John Travolta's masseur scandal

[Stephen Morgan]

Remember Paulette Cooper, the CoS sent a bloke to seduce her, then try to have her put in a mental hospital. So I wouldn't put anything past them.

[JackRiddler]

devil's advocacy: is there a threshold crossed where unrelenting hollywood attention whores like travolta et al (or sports figures, like tiger woods) essentially waive their right to privacy? the most frequent objections arise when the backlash of pathological narcissism sullies a branded image crafted for interminable public consumption by those whose maintenance of power comes at a very high personal cost. at a certain point, i'm sure we've all wished a talentless shithead like travolta would just go away, and now, hopefully, he just might.

Hmmmm... today's NY Daily News:



Alright, the Gotti endorsement!

[Simulist]

Remember Paulette Cooper, the CoS sent a bloke to seduce her, then try to have her put in a mental hospital. So I wouldn't put anything past them.

Neither would I; in fact, their non-profit status as a religious group might have been the result of blackmailing the head of the IRS, as I understand it.

[Marie Laveau]

I wouldn't know thing one about Scientology if it wasn't for RI. Having said that, it makes me real leery of three people coming out with accusations (and one guy who wasn't even accusing, just saying J.T. had been banned from the spa for inappropriate conduct) and then quickly pulling their accusations.

I wouldn't think anything about it at all if I hadn't read about Scientology on RI......

[Stephen Morgan]

Remember Paulette Cooper, the CoS sent a bloke to seduce her, then try to have her put in a mental hospital. So I wouldn't put anything past them.

Neither would I; in fact, their non-profit status as a religious group might have been the result of blackmailing the head of the IRS, as I understand it.

He was very successful spying on the government. And reported his wife to the feds, accusing her of being a KGB asset.

[Marie Laveau]

Just to add to the soup pot:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/07/john-travolta-gay-relationship-doug-gotterba_n_1578178.html

This one is pretty graphic:

http://gawker.com/5908742/john-travoltas-allegedly-gay-penis-a-history

The guy is gay. And Scientology, like Christianity, obviously doesn't have a "cure" for the gayness.

Who would ever imagine Christianity and Scientology had something in common? Except for, of course, the fantasy.

[Simulist]

It's a shame when somebody has to be dragged, kicking and screaming out of the closet. Although if Travolta is in fact gay, as it appears to me that he is, I'm pretty sure that some very real concerns over the future of his career were the original and major factors in his decision to try and conceal his homosexuality. (That and the crazy, no good, rotten cult he surrounded himself by, at first probably in order to "cure" him.) The closet is a sick-making and deadly place, and it often twists the personalities of the people inside the longer they remain within it; moreover, the longer lies go on, the worse the expected reaction when they're revealed.

But like a friend of mine used to say, "If you're being run out of town, get in front of the crowd, and make it look like a parade."

You better grab that baton, John... (Uh... no, John — that is not a baton.)

[Luther Blissett]

devil's advocacy: is there a threshold crossed where unrelenting hollywood attention whores like travolta et al (or sports figures, like tiger woods) essentially waive their right to privacy? the most frequent objections arise when the backlash of pathological narcissism sullies a branded image crafted for interminable public consumption by those whose maintenance of power comes at a very high personal cost. at a certain point, i'm sure we've all wished a talentless shithead like travolta would just go away, and now, hopefully, he just might. the spite directed at celebrities is clearly a part of their own doing, and the source of their ultimate undoing.

This is pretty much exactly why I hate what we do to child and teenage stars. They're not even societally adults yet we expect superhumanism from them.

Some tabloid, like the Examiner, once posted a series of photos of Travolta in a romantic embrace with another man. I think it made its way onto RI on the last Travolta thread. I don't think we need to make jokes about it - we just need to move forward from that point. My girlfriend, huge consumer of the blind item, tells me that within Hollywood, Travolta is not closeted. Maybe Nordic could shed some light.

Was the discredited accuser the one who provided the revealing, yet poorly scripted, quotes from Travolta about having done unsavory things when he was first starting out?

[peartreed]

In 1989 I was o n the film set of the John Travolta misfire, “The Experts”, where he co-starred with his wife-to-be Kelly Preston, and later worked with him on the productions of the “Look Who’s Talking” series. In the workplace contact he was consistently professional, friendly and easy to work with. At one of the wrap parties he asked my mother to dance (she was then in her seventies and had a bit part in one of his shows) and, to her delight, they waltzed around the dance floor before following up with a fast number. Travolta was a natural, instinctive crowd pleaser.

Mom took the happy memory and story of his gentlemanly aplomb to her grave.

The reason I’ve added this to the thread is simply to say the obvious: that we are all multi-faceted and, like most diamonds, have our highlights as well as our flaws.

While Travolta may have piloted his personal life into a nosedive in recent years he has also taken a few of his passengers for a ride involving soaring heights of pure fun.

I’ll always be grateful for his kindness in giving my dear old Mom a thrilling lift.

[Simulist]

That's nice to hear, Peartreed. And what a great experience for your mom.

My favorite character John Travolta ever played was that of George Malley in Phenomenon. He's said that this was probably one of the easiest parts ever for him to play, in part because he was basically just playing his real self (minus the sudden onset of hyper-intelligence); I tend to believe him.

The reason I’ve added this to the thread is simply to say the obvious: that we are all multi-faceted and, like most diamonds, have our highlights as well as our flaws.

So true. So easy to forget.

[Marie Laveau]

peartreed - years and years ago I read an article that said there were very few truly nice people in Hollywood (shocking, I know ) but the person who wrote the article, and I'm sorry I don't even remember what the whole point of it was, said there were three truly genuinely nice people in Hollywood: John Travolta, Paul Newman, and Tom Hanks.

For what it's worth.

[peartreed]

Thanks Marie & Simulist for adding your positive thoughts to the thread.

The film and television industry is particularly hard on the kids and youth whose parents, agents and supposed protectors often push them into the ruthless, competitive and fiercely predatory production milieu before they have a chance to mature enough to cope with it well. They are sacrificed to others’ vicarious dreams.

The very few who succeed enough to achieve sometimes fleeting fame pay a price in running the personal obstacle course of disrupted education, lost family and relations normalcy, unreliable peer group friends, distorted values, the temptations of celebrity, drugs, excess and – worst of all – the perverts and predators who prey on the young performers. The dangers actually compound as the career accelerates.

I’m not surprised by the number of young performers who are hidden victims and whose later lives become exposed as involving the more prurient underbelly of show business. When you are told you are so special, and come to believe it, you tend to latch on to the parasites who only want a piece of you, literally, and place your trust in opportunists who only want to ride you, your stardom, and your exploitation while the limelight lasts. You submerge your real identity into roles.

We can all list tragic examples of exactly this, and Travolta is no exception from the Welcome Back Kotter class clown kid to the Urban Cowboy to the Gotti mafia star.
I agree that Paul Newman and Tom Hanks had the strength of character to endure while keeping some semblance of personal integrity, ethics and social morality. The key seems to involve separating your real self from the roles you immerse yourself in for the income. The stage or screen persona has to be kept in context, and that takes incredible control and self-discipline even for a mature, experienced adult.

My career involved writing contract protections for kids to try to reduce the dangers. But to this day I’m haunted by the little ones who were damaged and lost.

Some of the survivors, like John Travolta, still carry the scars and the blame for it.

[nickatnoon61]

One more vote for the "Battlefield Earth" comment.

Sexual harassment, which is what this is (if true), is a big deal.

Like I said, despite the gossipy overall nature of the story, I thought the highlighted (alleged) comments by Travolta merited attention.

Why do malfeasance in high places and men forcing men/boys into sexual acts seem to go hand in hand?

Well we have a whole thread on fascist sexuality, and confusing sex and power does seem to be part of the powerful's sexual thing. Dunno if its just a men doing it to men/boys thing tho. Hollywood is always sposed to be run by Jews and Gays ... and maybe there is some truth in that saying but it could also be easy to manipulate people into thinking that way cos the stereotype is around.

If anyone here follows Australian politics (yeah right...) then they'll be aware of Peter Slipper, his history and the allegations against him. Sexual harassment allegations made by an openly gay man against the current speaker of the House of Reps. But given the history of that particular case it may not be that cut and dried.

Using the term "gay" is a sign of the times, and the fact that people now accept DESPICABLE/DEGENERATE behavior as "normal". These POS sickos/pdeophiles are anything but "gay"! Google McMartin Day Care Scandal.

[Peregrine]

Using the term "gay" is a sign of the times, and the fact that people now accept DESPICABLE/DEGENERATE behavior as "normal".

Hi Nick!
Can you please clarify what you mean by people now accepting despicable & degenerate behaviour as normal?
Are you referring to pedophile behaviour?
Thanks!

[Simulist]

One more vote for the "Battlefield Earth" comment.

Sexual harassment, which is what this is (if true), is a big deal.

Like I said, despite the gossipy overall nature of the story, I thought the highlighted (alleged) comments by Travolta merited attention.

Why do malfeasance in high places and men forcing men/boys into sexual acts seem to go hand in hand?

Well we have a whole thread on fascist sexuality, and confusing sex and power does seem to be part of the powerful's sexual thing. Dunno if its just a men doing it to men/boys thing tho. Hollywood is always sposed to be run by Jews and Gays ... and maybe there is some truth in that saying but it could also be easy to manipulate people into thinking that way cos the stereotype is around.

If anyone here follows Australian politics (yeah right...) then they'll be aware of Peter Slipper, his history and the allegations against him. Sexual harassment allegations made by an openly gay man against the current speaker of the House of Reps. But given the history of that particular case it may not be that cut and dried.

Using the term "gay" is a sign of the times, and the fact that people now accept DESPICABLE/DEGENERATE behavior as "normal". These POS sickos/pdeophiles are anything but "gay"! Google McMartin Day Care Scandal.

I have no argument with the latter portions of your post, Nick, but I'd like some clarification on the earlier portion please.

Are you saying that homosexual behavior is being accepted as "normal," even though it is "despicable" and/or "degenerate"? I hope not; hopefully I've misunderstood you.