- A university chancellor in Wisconsin was fired after he started uploading porn of him and his wife.
- Joe Gow was blasted by university officials, who on Wednesday called his conduct "abhorrent."
Top university officials in Wisconsin have sacked a university chancellor after he embarked on a side career in pornography with his wife.
Joe Gow, who's released multiple explicit videos of himself and his spouse, has been ousted as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, according to Wednesday statements from Universities of Wisconsin System Board of Regents.
The scathing statement did not mention Gow's videos but said the board had learned of "specific conduct" that inflicted "significant reputational harm" on his university.
"His actions were abhorrent," Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman wrote.
Gow was further accused by Universities of Wisconsin System Regent President Karen Walsh of showing a "reckless disregard" for the responsibilities of his role.
He was unanimously voted out, and the board was "alarmed, and disgusted, by his actions," Walsh said.
Gow holds tenure at UW-La Crosse, and will be placed on administrative leave as he transitions into a faculty role, the statement added.
Gow announced in the fall that he planned to step down and become a communications professor. But his firing surprised him, he told The Washington Post.
Gow and his wife say they're in the right
Now, Gow and his wife, Carmen Wilson, are telling national media they believe Gow's dismissal was due to their consensual explicit videos. And this meant the firing infringed upon their free speech rights and the university's own policies, they said.
"It's not what we're about in higher ed, to censor people," Wilson, who was removed from an unpaid position at the university, told The New York Times.
Gow is 63, while Wilson is 56. Both feature in their sexually explicit video series called "Sexy Healthy Cooking," in which they cook vegan meals with adult film actors, interview them, and then engage in sex acts, per The Times.
Gow told the outlet that their show helped to "really humanize" the porn performers. In the videos, neither he nor Wilson make any references to their university or jobs, according to The Times.
"They're overlooking some very clear free-speech protections," Gow said of the System Board of Regents, per The Post. "People who care about free speech should be very concerned about this situation."
Gow and Wilson further told the outlet that because their videos could only be found by people looking for adult content on sites like PornHub and OnlyFans, whoever discovered them was probably consuming such content.
Wilson told The Post that their sex videos are "hobby-based" and not to earn money.
In a statement to Business Insider, Gow said he wasn't told why he was fired or given a hearing to explain his side of the story to the board before his termination as chancellor.
"We all should be deeply troubled that the Board of Regents is overlooking the fact that the books and videos my wife and I have produced are protected under the First Amendment, as well as the Regents' own Commitment to Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression," Gow added.
Gow told BI on Friday he has not yet decided if he will pursue a legal response to his termination.
Rothman, the University of Wisconsin president, wrote in a letter to The Associated Press that Gow is wrong to believe the First Amendment gives him a "free pass" to say or do whatever he wants.
"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 said.
Furthermore, Gow was serving as chancellor at the regents' discretion and was not entitled to any sort of process, Rothman said, per the AP.
Universities of Wisconsin System Board of Regents oversees 13 public universities in the state.
Gow's tenure is under threat
Rothman said he's now targeting Gow's plans to teach at the UW-La Crosse.
His Wednesday statement said he'd asked the university's interim chancellor, Betsy Morgan, to look into reviewing Gow's tenure.
A third-party law firm has also been hired to investigate the overall matter, Rothman added.
The System Board of Regents is meeting on Friday to discuss Gow's firing and the status of the chancellor position, per its website.
Gow was one of UW-La Crosse's longest-serving chancellors, holding the office for 16 years.
He previously came under fire for inviting porn actor Nina Hartley to UW-La Crosse in 2018 for a campus talk, with a speaking payment of $5,000, according to Inside Higher Ed.
Gow has said that the backlash from the university flew in the face of its own free speech principles.
If Gow is to pursue legal action, he'll likely face an uphill battle. In a similar case from 2004, the US Supreme Court ruled against a police officer who was fired for selling porn videos featuring himself, The Times noted.
The justices said adult content did not fall within a public servant's purview to speak freely on public issues and that his First Amendment rights were not violated by his termination.
The Universities of Wisconsin System Board of Regents did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.
Update December 29, 2023: This story was updated to add comments from Gow received after publication.