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Chicago museum boss to keep $1 million job after getting drunk and stripping naked on flight

A Chicago museum director will keep his job - which pays him over $1 million a year - after drunkenly stripping naked on a flight.

Updated on: Jun 01, 2025 9:32 AM IST
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A Chicago museum director will keep his job - which pays him over $1 million a year - after drunkenly stripping naked on a flight. According to a New York Post report, James Rondeau, director of the Art Institute of Chicago, had landed in trouble in mid-April after he coupled alcohol with prescription medication and took off his clothes on a United Airlines flight.

James Rondeau will return to his role as director of the Art Institute of Chicago.
James Rondeau will return to his role as director of the Art Institute of Chicago.

What did Chicago museum boss James Rondeau do?

Rondeau was a passenger on a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Munich on April 18. He began to behave erratically during the international flight, stripping naked in front of co-passengers.

According to CBS News, which first reported the incident, Rondeau had taken alcohol with prescription medication which might have led to the strange behaviour.

He was taken into police custody after landing.

How was he penalised?

The director of the Art Institute of Chicago took a voluntary leave from the museum following the incident. The museum also launched an independent investigation into the incident.

“I deeply regret this incident and the impact it has had on the museum and me and on my colleagues,” Rondeau said in a statement to CBS News. “I have dedicated the past 27 years of my professional career to the Art Institute and I am grateful to have the opportunity to continue furthering its mission.”

How much does James Rondeau earn?

According to the New York Post, James Rondeau is the highest-paid employee of the Art Institute of Chicago, earning upwards of $1 million a year.

Will he return to his job?

Yes, James Rondeau will get to keep his high-paying job after the bizarre incident which landed him in police custody and made him a topic of international news.

A spokesperson for the museum told CBS News on Thursday that Rondeau will return to work on Monday. “Board leadership of the Art Institute of Chicago has conducted an independent investigation of this incident and is confident in James Rondeau's leadership and ability to continue as the President and Director of the museum,” the spokesperson said.

  • Sanya Jain
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Sanya Jain

    Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More

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