The Daily Telegraph - Saturday
US professor sacked over vegan porn videos
Dr Joe Gow was forced out of his post as Chancellor of Wisconsin University after posting sex scenes online
US Editor
A US university chancellor has been sacked after the institution discovered that he had filmed vegan-themed pornographic videos with his wife and posted them online.
Dr Joe Gow, 63, was forced to leave his post as head of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on Wednesday for posting sex clips with his wife, Carmen Wilson, under the username Sexy Happy Couple.
But the professor, who has been administratively suspended and is now being independently investigated by a law firm, has claimed that his constitutional right to free speech has been breached.
Dr Gow and his wife have shared screenshots from their cooking channel, where they host adult video stars as guests and have sex afterwards.
The OnlyFans web page describes videos where “top adult video stars cook, converse and shoot sex scenes with a plant-powered couple”.
They have also released two books under the pseudonyms Geri and Jay Hart, titled Married with Benefits: Our Real-Life Adult Industry Adventures and Monogamy with Benefits: How Porn Enriches Our Relationship.
Jay Rothman, president of the University of Wisconsin, a mid-ranking state university, described the content as “abhorrent”.
“In recent days, we learned of specific conduct by Dr Gow that has subjected the university to significant reputational harm,” he said.
Dr Gow said that the University of Wisconsin System’s board of regents unanimously decided to terminate his employment and sent him a letter referencing “behavioural expectations” for a university chancellor.
His status as a tenured communications professor at the university, which he plans to continue next spring after standing down as chancellor, is also under review.
Karen Walsh, head of the university’s board of regents, said that it had been “alarmed and disgusted by his actions”.
In an interview, the couple said they had referenced the university in the videos, and although they were recognisable in the footage, they had only described themselves as people “who serve in executive positions at two wellknown organisations in the US”.
Ms Wilson, who is a former professor at the same university, said that “censor[ing] people” is “not what we’re about in higher ed”.
“If they seek [the videos] out, they’re free to do so,” she said.
Dr Gow says that his right to free speech, protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution, has been breached by the university and expressed shock that his colleagues would object to the videos.
Although the couple have made explicit videos for years, they had only posted them online in the past two months and said that they had been pleased by the response from viewers.
Dr Gow said the board members who terminated his employment were “not following their own policy on academic freedom and freedom of speech”.
He added: “They also don’t seem to realise that the First Amendment would be critical in this situation.”
But Mr Rothman said that it was “ridiculous” to argue that the First Amendment allows employees a “free pass” to do whatever they want online.
“We expect our chancellors, as the leaders of these great institutions, to be role models for our students, staff and faculty as well for the communities we are privileged to serve,” he said.
Dr Gow could now sue the university for an alleged breach of his rights. A 2004 US Supreme Court ruling on the sacking of a San Diego police officer who had filmed pornographic content ruled that his free speech rights had not been breached, because the right to free expression did not extend to such explicit content. ‘We expect chancellors, to be role models for the students we are privileged to serve’