During a Thursday interview, Mr. Gow and Ms. Wilson expressed their belief that they were dismissed because of the films, which featured scenes of them having sex both together and with other people under the moniker Sexy Happy Couple. Both claimed that the university’s decision to punish them for the recordings was unfair and violated their right to free speech.
“Censoring people is not what higher education is about,” Ms. Wilson stated. The videos are only accessible to people who are hunting for such content, she continued. “They are free to seek it out if they so choose,” she remarked.
Mr. Gow, 63, stated that he had been making tapes with his wife, 56, for years, but they had just chosen to post them online on porn websites because they were happy with the response. They said that throughout the videos, some of which have received hundreds of thousands of views, they never once mentioned the institution or their positions. The duo has also produced a number of videos in which they cook meals with porn stars and then engage in sexual activity.
“We interview performers on our show, ‘Sexy Healthy Cooking,’ and we really humanise them in ways you wouldn’t get in their other work,” Mr. Gow explained. The individuals we collaborate with are incredibly professional and enjoyable to work with. It’s a fascinating process.
The University of Wisconsin System President, Jay Rothman, declared that Mr. Gow had caused “serious reputational harm” to the university.
According to Mr. Rothman, after a paid administrative leave, Mr. Gow—a tenured professor of communication as well—was expected to resume his academic position. However, Mr. Rothman claimed that he had requested that a law firm look into the situation and that the university reconsider Mr. Gow’s tenured status.
“They also don’t seem to realise that the First Amendment would be critical in this situation,” Mr. Gow said, adding that the university is “not following their own policy on academic freedom and freedom of speech.”
Mr. Rothman deemed Mr. Gow’s claim that the First Amendment granted him “a ‘free pass’ to say or do anything that he pleases” to be “ridiculous.”
“As the leaders of these outstanding institutions, we look to our chancellors to serve as role models for our students, faculty, staff, and the communities we have the honour of serving,” Mr. Rothman stated.
A police officer was fired for selling a pornographic video of himself, and the case was determined by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2004 with a majority decision. The court decided that there had been no infringement on the officer’s First Amendment rights in the case of City of San Diego v. Roe. Although public servants are entitled to express their opinions on issues of public interest, the court ruled that a pornographic movie did not fit that description.
Courts have frequently decided that public institutions have greater authority when removing top officials than rank-and-file employees, so if Mr. Gow sought legal action, he would likely have an even more difficult path than the police officer in that particular case, experts said.
Professor of free speech and other concerns at George Washington University Law School Mary Anne Franks remarked that Mr. Gow had brought up some thought-provoking points regarding the kind of communication that a university feels compelled to permit.
Across the nation, colleges and universities have been shaken and troubled by this dilemma, usually in relation to contentious political matters.
Ms. Franks mentioned that a different college in the University of Wisconsin System declared last year that it was powerless to prosecute a student for uploading a video that was racially offensive on the internet.
“He’s opening the door to the possibility that those who claim to be sincerely committed to free speech and want discussion on any subject are not sincere, whether on purpose or not,” Ms. Franks said.
Mr. Gow has previously advocated for the matter. He asked a porn actress to talk to students about the porn industry in 2018 as part of a celebration of “Free Speech Week.” According to a letter obtained by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the president of the University of Wisconsin System at the time claimed that Mr. Gow had invited the actress with “poor judgement.”
Mr. Gow increased the number of full-time undergraduate students at the about 10,000-student university along the Wisconsin-Minnesota border over his nearly 17 years in leadership, during a period when enrolment at other University of Wisconsin campuses had sharply decreased. In addition, he coordinated a large-scale renovation of campus buildings and highlighted the value of free expression. Mr. Gow declared in September that he intended to leave his position as chancellor and rejoin the faculty. University authorities complimented him at the time, and Mr. Gow stated that it felt like “going out on top of your game” to stand down at that point.
