Most titillating of all however is the controversy brewing over the reportedly intimate relationship Travolta had with Jeff Michael Kathrein – one of the two (male) ‘nurses’ who provided 24/7 care for Jett.
(“Tragic Death of John Travolta’s Son Jett,” January 5, 2009)
Virtually every Bahamian was horrified three years ago when two of our fellow citizens compounded John Travolta’s grief by (allegedly) attempting to extort millions from him. They threatened to release compromising details which, according to them, showed that Travolta’s antic behavior contributed to his son’s death.
Thankfully they were swiftly arrested and prosecuted. Despite the actor’s compelling testimony, however, (inadvertent) political interference caused a mistrial. Travolta then said the ordeal was too traumatizing for him to participate in a retrial, which struck many of us as more than a little incredulous.
In any event, the trial disclosed that the idiot extortionists had nothing that stood even a remote chance of compelling Travolta to fork over millions to avoid embarrassment … or worse. This led us to suspect that a 2006 National Enquirer story featuring a photo of Travolta kissing the aforementioned Jeff, who discovered his son’s body, was really what caused the trauma he cited. Particularly because this photo, which went viral during this period, was supplemented by tabloid reports outing Jeff as having no qualifications as a registered nurse or as a caregiver for chronically ill children….
This is the context in which I am commenting on the claims two masseurs are making now about the way Travolta propositioned them for sex during massage sessions earlier this year. Even though they do not know each other, both men are reportedly giving similar accounts of what transpired.
A lawyer joined their claims and filed a lawsuit against Travolta in Los Angeles on Tuesday for sexual battery, assault, and harassment. Below are excerpts from that filing:
Re: Doe Plaintiff No. 1
[Travolta] started to rub Doe Plaintiff No. 1’s leg, and Doe Plaintiff No.1 thought it was accidental… [Travolta] touched Doe Plaintiff No. 1’s scrotum and this time Doe Plaintiff No. 1 told [Travolta] to please not touch him again… [Travolta] then touched the shaft of Doe Plaintiff No. 1’s penis and seized upon it. [Travolta] quickly tried to rub the head of Doe Plaintiff No.1’s penis as he tried to pull away…
[Travolta] said, “Come on dude, I’ll jerk you off!!!!” [Travolta] penis fully erect … lumbered to his feet and began to move towards Doe Plaintiff No. 1 … telling Doe Plaintiff No. 1 how selfish he was; that [he, Travolta] got where he is now due to sexual favors he performed when he was in his Welcome Back Kotter days…
[Travolta] went on to say how he had done things in the past that would make most people throw up… that when he started out he wasn’t even gay and that the taste of cum would make him gag … that he was smart enough to learn to enjoy it, and when he began making millions of dollars, that it all became worth it… that the high-class in this world always favor same-sex relationships; that sex with beautiful, fit men is actually more intense and if Doe Plaintiff No. 1would just be open minded enough to let it happen, he would experience the best fucking of his life…
Re: Doe Plaintiff No. 2
[Travolta] suddenly turned on his stomach with his legs wide open with a full erection. He then tried to force Doe Plaintiff No. 2’s hand on [Travolta’s] scrotum. Then, Travolta started to grab, rub and caress Doe Plaintiff No. 2’s upper thighs and buttocks… [Travolta] still had an erection and wanted his abdominals done, but [Travolta’s] erection was in the way, and he refused to have his penis covered by a sheet or a pillow case cover… [Travolta] started masturbating with about 15 minutes left in the session, and Doe Plaintiff No.2, said he had to go.
Well, four immediate thoughts come to mind (consider it foreplay…):
- To all of my female readers who are now recoiling with faux squeamishness and can’t wait to bitch at me for publishing such prurient details, I have only four words for you: Fifty Shades of Grey;
- I have to think that the only reason Travolta behaved as alleged is that he’s accustomed to getting (and evidently giving) happy endings when he pays for massages;
- For some reason I kept thinking of Tom Cruise instead of John Travolta as I read this; and
- Travolta’s lawyer has released persuasive information showing that the actor was in NYC on the day (January 16, 2012) when Plaintiff Doe No. 1 claims his incident occurred in LA. But would it matter to anyone if the female victim of an alleged rape claims that it occurred on January 16 when, in fact, it occurred on January 15? Travolta was in LA on January 15. Not to mention that this alibi, for what it’s worth, pertains only to one accuser.
Ironically, there seems to be an open media conspiracy to cast doubt on these truly sensational claims. Only this explains the absurdity of news organizations retaining TV lawyers to propagate the specious notion that, unless these plaintiffs have eyewitnesses to corroborate their stories, they have no case.
But they know full well that, except in rare cases (like Jerry Sandusky raping that boy in the shower at Penn State), sexual assaults are committed only when perpetrators are sure there are no eyewitnesses. Which is why such cases invariably turn on the credibility of he-said, she-said testimony (or, in this case, he-said, he-said).
Meanwhile, the media are also doing all they can to provide a platform for Travolta’s lawyer to trash the victims and threaten to sue them for defamation. But how often have you heard celebrities threatening to sue in situations like this but never doing so? Remember the public spectacle Ashton and Demi made of their threats to sue Star for reporting on his brazen extramarital affairs? Yet the only legal action they actually took was to file for divorce.
I am convinced that Travolta’s lawyer is acting pursuant more to a PR strategy than a legal one. Not least because I suspect Travolta would rather put a bullet through his head than appear in court – either to defend himself against these claims or to assert that he has been defamed by them. All he really wants now is to settle this lawsuit … on the down low.
The problem however is that just as many masseurs/men are now likely to come out of the woodwork with similar claims as the countless number of men who have come out to accuse Sandusky of molesting them too when they were kids. Lord knows there have been enough reports about Travolta cruising in this fashion.
Insightfully, here is what the congenitally unfiltered Carrie Fisher (Princess Lea of Star Wars fame) said in a December 10, 2010 interview with Advocate.com about the gay rumors that have dogged him throughout his career :
Wow! I mean, my feeling about John has always been that we know and we don’t care. Look, I’m sorry that he’s uncomfortable with it, and that’s all I can say. It only draws more attention to it when you make that kind of legal fuss. Just leave it be.
To which I will only add this invariably true cliché: where there’s smoke there’s fire.
Related commentaries:
Tragic death of Travolta’s son…
* This commentary was originally published yesterday, May 10, at 1 pm