The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse chancellor Joe Gow who was fired for filming adult content with his wife and sharing those online said they lost friends and were forced to have difficult conversations with relatives ever since the scandal made headlines.
The 63-year-old academic was suspended in December after it was revealed that Gow and his 56-year-old wife Carmen Wilson led a double life as porn stars. The couple owned a YouTube channel titled Sexy Healthy Cooking where they cooked vegan meals with famous adult film stars but viewers were also directed to other websites from those videos to view explicit content, like OnlyFans.
The former university chancellor and his wife are described as “passionate plant-powered couple cooking, conversing and shooting extraordinary sex scenes with top adult stars” on their websites.
Someone Recognised Us
The couple told UK-based newspaper The Times that they suspect someone recognised them and alerted the university which led to their dismissal. “We were just really stunned at how quickly the videos became popular, and had over a million views,” the former psychology professor was quoted as saying.
The couple made videos as a hobby since their wedding in 2014 but decided to share their first video online two months ago.
Stigma
Wilson said the family reacted in a manner that they described as a “challenge”. “I wouldn’t say I’m glad it’s out. The family reaction is a challenge. I called my mom and she wasn’t super-excited, so that’s not easy,” she was quoted as saying.
Gow’s former employer said the actions of the chancellor were “abhorrent” and the local paper which was about to name Gow “person of the year” scrapped their article and instead covered his firing.
“It’s fascinating — before this I was someone you admired and now I’m someone who is reviled, it’s just a really unusual thing. Some people we talk to are curious and others are like ‘I’ll never talk to you again.’ It’s been very saddening to see some people abandoning us. We’ve lost friends,” Gow was quoted as saying by The Times.
Gow defended his actions and said that he held the role for 17 years and never mentioned his job in the videos. The videos were also created in their spare time and while on vacations.
Adult Film Industry Embraces Couple
The couple claimed that while there have been many discouraging reactions, the porn industry welcomed them with open arms, with some inviting them to work with them. A report by the New York Post said that the couple are considering working with them and hope that their story spurs more discussions on college campuses.
“I’d be very eager to talk to other universities who have an open mind about this. Most college students are looking at pornography so shouldn’t we be talking about it? When everybody settles down I would hope they would understand this is a very interesting, legitimate, important area of future study,” Gow further added.
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