OnlyFans turned out to be both a blessing and a curse for former University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow and his wife, Carmen Wilson. Their racy content cost Joe his cushy university job, but it also brought in a wave of new subscribers.
The couple joined TMZ Live on Tuesday to talk about how their homemade porn led to his firing. They say everything changed when they posted clips on Pornhub, which has fewer restrictions than OF. According to them, someone reported the videos to the university, and Joe was dismissed by email.
Both Joe and Carmen are former academics—he a chancellor, she a professor—and we asked if they expected the fallout. Joe admits it was “a surprise,” though he believes his exit was already on the horizon. Now, the couple is preparing a lawsuit.
Before the scandal, Joe’s OnlyFans account barely had an audience. After the story went viral, subscriptions shot up by the thousands in a single day. Carmen says they’ve even become popular with students.
Gow was officially removed as chancellor in 2023 after officials discovered he and Wilson were creating and posting pornographic content online.
The couple recently told their local news station WXOW that the upcoming documentary gave them a chance to share their side of the story and compare experiences with other creators.
“There’s been a lot of sensationalism around our situation,” Gow said. “This was more about talking calmly about why you do what you do. It was nice to be approached just to discuss that, instead of all the controversy.”
Wilson added that their work differs from many other creators. “We were not there to make a lot of money. We don’t really use OnlyFans the way a typical content provider would,” she said. “We had videos we made, and we were happy to share them with the world.”
Looking ahead, Gow says he and Wilson are focused on their lawsuit against the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents. “There’s an important principle here,” Gow said. “People should be able to do what they want on the internet, and it shouldn’t have an impact on their job.”
The jury trial is scheduled for summer 2026.