By Daniela LaFave
Copyright laweekly
OnlyFans is a common enough side hustle for people who are looking for unique ways to make ends meet, but one respected university chancellor and his wife maybe should have picked a different alternative revenue stream. In the give and take between private careers, public image, and academic responsibility, this couple’s OnlyFans page was just a step too far for his employer.
Joe Gow is the (now) former Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, who was dismissed in December of 2023 for creating and sharing explicit adult content on OnlyFans. His wife, Carmen Wilson, was his frequent collaborator and the co-creator of the adult content that they shared on the adults-only platform. Their personal lives quickly became very public when the existence of their couple’s OnlyFans page became headline news.
Gow was dismissed from his university position when officials learned about his homemade pornographic videos. His termination was communicated to him via official email, signaling that the university was taking an urgent stance. While there were no laws broken, the university cited concerns about reputational harm and a lack of professionalism. Gow and Wilson have articulated plans to sue the university, arguing that he was wrongfully dismissed.
Gow and Wilson were primarily sharing their homemade pornographic content on OnlyFans, where they were able to monetize their adult content via subscriptions. They were also uploading videos to Pornhub, which they describe as “less restrictive” for the material they wanted to share. Pornhub is a free, ad-supported platform where creators can share both professional and amateur pornography, while OnlyFans is a subscription-based social media network that lets creators share exclusive content directly. No matter which platform creators upload their content to, it’s important to remember that with increased online visibility comes heightened scrutiny, which can be detrimental to those in public roles.
Having an explicit side hustle may have cost Gow his university position, but the scandal boosted the popularity of the content-creating couple. They’ve reported thousands of new subscribers in a single day following the headlines after Gow’s dismissal. Their content began circulating beyond OnlyFans, driving further curiosity and media attention. The couple’s content also became wildly popular with students at the university, raising concerns about the blurred boundaries between faculty, administration, and students. The popularity of Gow’s OnlyFans amongst the student population also legitimized the administration’s concerns, further strengthening their side in a future court case. Due to their public roles, and the nature of the strictly professional relationships that university staff and faculty are expected to maintain with their students, educators are held to a different standard when it comes to their public image.
Adult content creation is a legitimate and valid career path; however, educators in leadership roles are often held to much stricter professional standards than people in other professions. Personal freedom often collides with public responsibility for content creators who have professional lives outside of their content businesses, and that conflict is even more significant for those in education.
When private lives are made public, the fallout is rarely going to be pretty, especially when reputations are tied to institutions. For Gow and Wilson, their next steps possibly include a lawsuit, the airing of TMZ Presents: The War Over OnlyFans, and maybe even an intentional shift in the future for content creators in academia. In the age of digital transparency, how far is too far when it comes to professional discretion vs. personal expression? We’ll have to wait and see how the couple does in court.
