Free Speech Concerns Raised After College Chancellor Fired for Making Porn

The firing of University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow over his involvement in pornographic videos has sparked free speech concerns.

UW President Jay Rothman announced Gow's firing on Wednesday, writing in a statement that his "abhorrent" actions "subjected the university to significant reputational harm." The Board of Regents voted unanimously to terminate Gow as chancellor, but the university did not offer specific details about why he was fired.

Gow believes he was fired after it was discovered that he and his wife, Carmen Wilson, a former professor at UW-La Crosse, produced and appeared in pornographic videos, he told the Associated Press. The couple starred in a YouTube channel titled "Sexy Healthy Cooking" in which they cooked meals with adult film actors. According to AP, their biographies on Amazon, where they have published several books, contained links to a pornographic website.

He told AP that he views the firing as a violation of his free speech.

"My wife and I live in a country where we have a First Amendment," he said. "We're dealing with consensual adult sexuality. The regents are overreacting. They're certainly not adhering to their own commitment to free speech or the First Amendment."

Newsweek reached out to the University of Wisconsin and Gow via email for comment.

Attorney and legal analyst Jonathan Turley said Gow could challenge the firing in court in a post to X, formerly Twitter.

"Chancellor Joe Gow was removed after it was revealed he and his wife made porn videos under the name 'Sexy Happy Couple.' The now unhappy couple could now challenge the action in the courts in a case with some interesting free speech implications," Turley wrote.

Nicholas A. Christakis, a professor of social and natural science at Yale University, wrote on X: "UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow fired for appearing in porn videos with his wife, and writing books about it. A free speech absolutist argument could be made that he should not be fired from being chancellor, and surely not from being a professor."

Michael Ford, an associate professor of public administration at UW-Oshkosh, wrote that the free speech argument made by Gow is "interesting."

"I think a court case is in the offing here," he wrote. "1st amendment applies to his right to make these videos for sure, I can't see how it protects his right to his position as chancellor."

Gow planned to retire as chancellor at the end of the spring 2024 semester, AP reported. Rothman, however, said he planned to file a complaint that his status as a tenured faculty member be reviewed. He will be placed on paid administrative leave, Rothman wrote.

Rothman responded to Gow in a statement to AP, arguing that the First Amendment does not give him a "free pass to say or do anything that he pleases" and that he failed to act as a role model for students.

"Good judgment requires that there are and must be limits on what is said or done by the individuals entrusted to lead our universities," Rothman told AP.