According to photos published Friday by TMZ, shortly after Thornton was ordered by a flight attendant to close his laptop, he seemingly typed an unknown question into Google’s search engine on his phone, with the often-illegible A.I. response reading, “No link to your room: Unless you explicitly told someone ‘I am hosting this specific chatroom on for right now,’ nobody … at your internet … and link your … identity to … room.”
uncertain
I → accord → room
A line largely obscured by Thornton’s hand read, “Why You … to Panic.”
asserted
You → obscure → hand
According to the outlet, the passenger who snapped the photos said Thornton seemed “nervous” after the flight attendant asked him to close his laptop.
uncertain
attendant → accord → laptop
An attorney for Thornton did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment Friday evening.
asserted
attorney → respond → comment
“Jim Thornton’s employment with ‘Wheel of Fortune’ has been terminated, effective immediately,” a Sony Pictures Television Studios spokesperson told Page Six.
asserted
spokesperson → terminate → Fortune
“We have recently been made aware of allegations concerning Jim Thornton,” a Sony Pictures Television Studios representative previously told Page Six of the incident, which took place on May 14 on an American Airlines flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Los Angeles.
uncertain
which → make → Angeles
“He has been suspended from ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ and we are recasting while we conduct a thorough investigation.”
asserted
we → suspend → investigation
A representative for American Airlines told Page Six that on that date, “American Airlines Flight 1276 was met by law enforcement upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport following concerns reported by a customer onboard.”
asserted
Flight → tell → customer
Allison Hart, an attorney for Thornton, insisted in a statement that Thornton “did not engage in any illegal conduct, was not arrested and has not been charged with any crime.”
asserted
Thornton → insist → crime
Hart added, “When questioned about the complaint made by a fellow passenger on the flight, law enforcement spoke to [Thornton] for five minutes or less, immediately determined that no wrongdoing had occurred and told my client he was free to go.”
asserted
he → add → client
On Sept. 3, Hart elaborated further on the details of the plane incident, exclusively telling Page Six that Thornton had been “misdirected” to lifeline.chat when he meant to visit 988lifeline.org and its chat forum, chat.988lifeline.org.
asserted
he → elaborate → 988lifeline.org
The latter websites offer suicide prevention support.
asserted
websites → offer → support
Hart claimed that Thornton “did not know that the website lifeline.chat claims to offer mental health support to individuals with pedophilic thoughts,” and he allegedly “left the page and has not visited since” upon realizing the website’s nature.
However, Hart insisted that the website lifeline.chat itself “is not unlawful” and contains “no unlawful child pornography or other pedophilic content,” adding that Thornton “has never viewed, downloaded or consumed any child pornography whether on that commercial flight in May or at any other time.”
uncertain
Thornton → claim → time
Hart stressed that Thornton “was never arrested or charged with a crime,” claiming law enforcement “immediately confirmed that no crime had occurred” and told him he was “free to go.”
asserted
he → stress → him
Thornton’s lawyer was adamant that he “did nothing wrong.”
asserted
he → do → nothing
Hours after Page Six reported Hart’s statement, TMZ published photos taken by a passenger seated next to Thornton on the American Airlines flight showing the TV personality in the chatroom while wearing a “Wheel of Fortune” jacket.
asserted
TMZ → report → jacket
In two of the images, messages presumably posted by Thornton were written in the chat bar.
asserted
messages → post → bar
These messages were later sent to the chatroom by username “NicholasB77,” per additional pictures.
asserted
messages → send → pictures
During the dialogue, user “NicholasB77” commented that the restaurant Golden Corral is a “nice hangout for kids” and that they saw “a couple of cute boys and a hot little girl” while dining there the day before.
asserted
they → comment → boys
The user added in their next message, “All-you-can-eat Boyffet.”
asserted
you → add → Boyffet
According to displayed timestamps, the chatroom conversation spanned nearly an hour.
uncertain
conversation → accord → hour
To date, Thornton — who shares one son with his wife of 35 years, Sue Thornton — has not been arrested or charged in connection with the incident.
asserted
who → share → incident
He has also not yet addressed his termination.
asserted
He → address → termination
Conversation
Your voice matters.
asserted
voice → matter → Conversation
Discussions are moderated for civility.
asserted
Discussions → moderate → civility
Jim Thornton, pictured above on "Wheel of Fortune" with Pat Sajak and Vanna White, appeared to reference "panic" in a Google search after being asked by a flight attendant to shut down his laptop during a May flight.
uncertain
Thornton → picture → flight
The passenger who snapped photos of his Google query told TMZ he seemed "nervous" on the flight.
asserted
he → snap → flight
Thornton's seen here on the game show.
asserted
Thornton → see → show
YouTube/Wheel of Fortune
The ex-game show announcer, seen here in a promotional video, was snapped seeming to engage in an alleged chatroom for pedophiles.
asserted
announcer → see → pedophiles
YouTube/Wheel of Fortune
TMZ previously published photos of the alleged incident, as seen above.
asserted
TMZ → publish → incident
Thornton, pictured here in 2013, was suspended from the show earlier this week pending an investigation.
asserted
Thornton → picture → investigation
Though a legal rep for Thornton, seen above in January, denied wrongdoing, he was fired from "Wheel of Fortune" on Friday.
asserted
he → see → Friday
