Fired University chancellor defends starting OnlyFans with wife as “free speech”

Former University of Wisconsin-La Crosse chancellor Joe Gow says his free speech was under attack after he was fired for starting an OnlyFans account with his wife.

Earlier this month, University of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman announced the termination of Joe Gow after discovering OnlyFans content that he had made with his wife.

“In recent days, we learned of specific conduct by Dr. Gow that has subjected the university to significant reputational harm. His actions were abhorrent,” he said in a statement.

Gow and his wife run an X account called Sexy Happy Couple that features links to cooking content as well as to their explicit OnlyFans – something the ex-chancellor didn’t see a problem with.

Fired university chancellor hits out after OnlyFans account backlash

Speaking with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Gow explained that he felt that the UW Board of Regents would be “more understanding” when they discovered his OnlyFans content.

“I thought the board, given their staunch support of free speech, would be a little more understanding. But clearly, that’s not the case,” he said, pointing to annual free speech reports and events they had hosted.

“I would say that anything that I do or my wife and I do, we do as citizens in the United States, who have the freedom of the First Amendment in the Constitution, to create and publish books and videos that explore consensual adult sexuality,” he added.

Gow had previously been in trouble with the university back in 2018 for inviting an adult actress to the campus for a lecture and was reportedly preparing to step down at the end of the year to take a faculty job instead.

Nonetheless, Gow stands by his decision to produce the content and hit out at the board for what he claims is a load of hypocrisy.

“I just think we have people on the board that say they’re for free speech, but they really aren’t. And I don’t know how they will explain this.”

This is hardly the first time a school official has been fired for turning to OnlyFans. Through 2023, there have been numerous stories of teachers being sacked for joining the adult platform, including one who even filmed content inside her kindergarten.