MARSHALL APPEARS TO SCRUB FIRED WHEEL ANNOUNCER’S PAGES
Marshall University appeared to remove multiple pages celebrating Jim Thornton from its website after Sony fired him as the announcer on Wheel of Fortune. The firing followed an incident on an American Airlines flight, where a passenger allegedly told a flight attendant she saw Thornton, a Marshall alum, in an online chatroom she believed was for pedophiles.
By September 8, 2026, links to the pages led to error screens, TMZ reported. The missing pages had named Thornton as the university’s 2026 Spring Commencement speaker and its 2025 Homecoming Grand Marshal.
Marshall’s own announcement of the commencement speech was still a matter of record. On May 7, 2026, the university said Thornton, a Huntington native, would be the featured speaker at both spring ceremonies on May 9, 2026, at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Marshall Health Network Arena, according to Marshall University. The Marshall University Alumni Association site also lists him as the 2025 Homecoming Grand Marshal.
When TMZ asked about the missing pages, a Marshall spokesperson did not address them directly. The spokesperson said:
“At this time, Marshall University is aware of the media reports regarding Jim Thornton and is actively monitoring the situation.”
Thornton’s ties to the school go back decades. USA TODAY reported he began working in broadcast as a Marshall student in 1983.
The airline incident behind the firing
TMZ reported that Sony investigated an incident aboard an American Airlines flight before Thornton lost his job. Headline Reporter identified it as a flight on May 14, 2026.
According to TMZ, the passenger told a flight attendant she saw Thornton in the chatroom. That is her allegation. Police questioned Thornton after the plane landed at Los Angeles International Airport, TMZ reported, but he was not arrested or charged.
Thornton’s attorney has denied any wrongdoing. TMZ reported the attorney’s position that Thornton accidentally entered the wrong chatroom while trying to visit a suicide-prevention forum and left quickly. The attorney also told Entertainment Weekly that Thornton “did not engage in any illegal conduct, was not arrested, and has not been charged with any crime.”
How Wheel moved on
On September 1, 2026, Sony Pictures Television confirmed Thornton had been suspended. A spokesperson gave USA TODAY a statement.
“We have recently been made aware of allegations concerning Jim Thornton. He has been suspended from Wheel of Fortune and we are recasting while we conduct a thorough investigation.”
Headline Reporter reported that Sony ended his run as announcer on September 4, 2026. A Sony spokesperson said the company had finished its review. “Following a thorough investigation, Jim Thornton’s employment with Wheel of Fortune has been terminated, effective immediately,” the statement said, as reported on TMZ’s Thornton coverage page.
The show had already started editing him out. TMZ reported Wheel was re-editing taped episodes to replace his announcing work, and its latest taping went ahead without an announcer after his firing.
The patchwork showed on screen. Yahoo Entertainment reported that viewers noticed an apparent editing error after Thornton’s voice was replaced in previously recorded episodes. A different, unidentified voice was doing the announcing in the new season.
On October 26, 2026, TMZ reported that the woman who said she saw Thornton in the chatroom had never been contacted by the FBI.
