The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse chancellor who was fired for shooting porn with his wife has filed a lawsuit to fight for his job back.
Joe Gow has claimed that his first amendment rights were violated when he was removed from his position by the UW Board of Regents in December 2023.
After losing his position as chancellor, Gow was still a tenured communications professor and placed on paid leave until September 2024, when the board officially fired him.
Gow said interim Chancellor Betsy Morgan sent him a report accusing him of producing pornography using university technology as well as ‘unethical and potentially illegal behavior.’
On Monday, Gow filed the lawsuit against the board in a bid to get back in the classroom. He is demanding to be reinstated as a professor and wants lost wages and damages.
‘It’s having the system do the right thing. And the university do the right thing and put me back in the classroom,’ Gow told WXOW.
‘You know this really is a first amendment case because why they fired me from a tenured faculty was because they didn’t like the books and videos my wife and I made on our own time.’
Gow has claimed that the material he creates with his wife Carmen Wilson – under the name ‘Sexy Happy Couple’ – is not illegal or distasteful.
Joe Gow has claimed that his first amendment rights were violated when he was removed from his position in December 2023
Gow has claimed that the material he creates with his wife Carmen Wilson – under the name ‘Sexy Happy Couple’ – is not illegal or distasteful
Gow came under fire when invited porn star Nina Hartley (pictured right) to speak at the university and paid her $5,000
The day the lawsuit was filed was also the first day of classes for the spring semester.
He said to News8Now on Monday: ‘According to the plan I had made with President Rothman before all the controversy, I would have been going back to the classroom today.
‘So it’s very fitting that we’re filing this lawsuit to try and get my back into the classroom because I really miss teaching, I have a lot to offer and this just isn’t right.’
Universities of Wisconsin spokesperson Mark Pitsch declined to comment on the lawsuit because it is an ongoing situation, the Associated Press reported.
In September 2024, the university’s lawyer Wade Harrison said Gow’s behavior was ‘unethical, hypocritical and unacceptable’ and that ‘Gow’s pornography videos are not protected by the First Amendment.’
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said in a statement to WXOW: ‘Joe Gow is suing the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse to vindicate his rights to engage in protected expression outside the classroom.
‘We support Gow’s drive to hold UW accountable for violating his fundamental first amendment rights.’
Aside from making porn, Gow and Wilson have a YouTube channel called ‘Sexy Healthy Cooking’ where they cook vegan recipes with other porn stars before having sex with them.
Gow and Wilson have published two e-books about their experiences as porn stars
On Monday, Gow filed the lawsuit against the board in a bid to get back in the classroom
Gow and Wilson have a YouTube channel called ‘Sexy Healthy Cooking’ where they cook vegan recipes with other porn stars before having sex with them
Gow has also published two books with his wife about their experiences in the porn industry.
Despite arguing that his role at the university was never intertwined with his adult activities, Gow found himself in hot water after paying porn star Nina Hartley $5,000 from his discretionary fund to speak at the La Crosse campus in 2018.
Gow and Wilson have filmed an explicit video with Hartley.
During the 90-minute address, Hartley told students it is acceptable to enjoy, not enjoy or have mixed feelings about porn. She also stressed that pornography is fantasy.
Gow later apologized for the ‘sensationalist’ media attention Hartley’s appearance had attracted and said he was naïve about the possibility that her profession would overwhelm her message. He also personally reimbursed the school for the $5,000.
