Ousted 'Wheel of Fortune' star gives bizarre explanation for disturbing plane behavior

Longtime "Wheel of Fortune" announcer Jim Thornton has been fired after Sony investigated disturbing allegations that he spent nearly an hour accessing a website associated with child exploitation material during a flight — and his explanation for it only raised more eyebrows.

According to The Daily Beast, Sony announced Thornton's ouster this week, ending his run with the show after digging into the incident. Thornton had already been benched earlier in the week once Sony learned a fellow passenger on a May American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Los Angeles had photographed him browsing the site for at least 57 minutes, according to timestamps reported by TMZ, while wearing a "Wheel of Fortune" jacket.

Thornton's attorney offered an unusual defense in a letter obtained by Page Six, claiming Thornton had actually been trying to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline's website in connection with separate volunteer work, but got routed to a lookalike URL through an acquaintance instead.

The attorney insisted Thornton bailed the moment he realized what he was looking at: "[He] left the page and has not visited since."

The photographic evidence, however, suggests Thornton remained on the page for a considerably longer stretch than a quick, accidental click. Another passenger alerted the flight crew, and police met Thornton at the gate once the plane landed, questioning him briefly before releasing him without charges — a detail his attorney cited as proof no wrongdoing occurred.

Sony hasn't detailed the specific reasoning behind Thornton's suspension publicly, saying only it was looking into the matter thoroughly while recasting his role. The network is also reportedly undertaking the complex task of editing his voice out of already-taped episodes for the current season.

Thornton had served as the show's announcer since 2011, taking over after the death of longtime voice Charlie O'Donnell.