Wisconsin University Chancellor Fired Over Adult Videos

Joe Gow argues dismissal violated his free speech rights, calls for public hearing on free speech boundaries

Joe Gow, the former chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, was fired over adult videos he created with his wife, Carmen Wilson, arguing that his dismissal violated his free speech rights.
Gow and Wilson, who met when she chaired the search committee that selected him to lead the university, also wrote two books together detailing their untraditional relationship in the porn industry.
Gow, who had announced in August his plans to retire at the end of the 2023-24 academic year and return to the faculty as a communications professor, will be placed on paid administrative leave as he transitions into his faculty role.
University of Wisconsin president Jay Rothman said he filed a complaint asking that Gow’s status as a tenured faculty member be reviewed, and an outside law firm has been hired to investigate the matter.
The videos, which sometimes feature well-known porn stars, appear on sites like OnlyFans as well as Pornhub, with some garnering more than 200,000 views.