Masseur Accuses John Travolta of sexual assault

2:30am UK, Wednesday May 16, 2012

One of the two male masseurs who accused actor John Travolta of sexual assault has dropped his $2m lawsuit.
However, the lawyer for the second masseur said he was going ahead with his case and was confident of success.

The unidentified man, referred to as John Doe No 1, who claimed that the Hollywood star groped him during a massage session in Beverly Hills in January, filed a notice dismissing his lawsuit with federal court in Los Angeles.

The man was reported last week to have said he got the wrong date of the alleged incident after photos and restaurant receipts surfaced putting the Saturday Night Fever actor in New York on the same day.

"The case has been dismissed, but that doesn't mean it can't be refiled," the plaintiff's lawyer, Okorie Okorocha, said.

Mr Okorocha said he still will be going ahead with the lawsuit involving a second unidentified man, John Doe No 2, who claimed that Travolta rubbed his leg, touched his genitals and tried to initiate sex at a private appointment at an Atlanta hotel on January 28.

Asked whether he was concerned about the credibility of John Doe No 2's suit in light of the first masseur's dismissal, Mr Okorocha said: "Not at all.

"I'm not worried about anything with John Doe 2."

John Travolta’s Masseur Lawsuits Follow Rumors of a Double Life
May 9, 2012 4:45 AM EDT


Hollywood star John Travolta has been accused of sexual assault in lawsuits filed by two male masseurs. But questions about the actor’s sex life have circulated for years, reports Marlow Stern.










News of an incredibly graphic $2 million lawsuit by a “John Doe” masseur against John Travolta, which broke Monday, may have come as a surprise to some fans of the actor, who projects an image of a smiling heartthrob on-screen and an adoring family man off.




In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, an unnamed male masseur accuses the 58-year-old Pulp Fiction star of sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, saying Travolta came on to him several times during a massage session at the Beverly Hills Hotel in January. And on Tuesday, a second “John Doe” masseur, represented by the same attorney, filed another $2 million sexual-assault suit against Travolta, claiming “substantial documentation and numerous witnesses regarding the substance of Travolta’s actions.” Travolta’s lawyer has denied both men’s accusations, saying of the new suit, “This second ‘anonymous’ claim is just as absurd and ridiculous as the first one.”


For anyone who’s been following Travolta’s life off-screen, however, rumors of a sexual preference for men have persisted for years.


On May 8, 1990, The National Enquirer ran a cover story describing an alleged affair between Travolta and Paul Barresi, a gay-porn star. According to Barresi, the two met in 1982, after the actor allegedly followed him into the shower room of a Los Angeles health club, and the relationship lasted for two years. Barresi reportedly received $100,000 from the Enquirer for his Travolta story, but retracted it several months later under what he later alleged was legal pressure from Travolta’s attorneys. While Barresi is not the most credible of witnesses, having inserted himself into several high-profile celebrity scandals over the years, he did snag a speaking role in the 1985 Travolta film Perfect.

Actor John Travolta attends the ninth Annual TV Land Awards at the Javits Center in New York City, April 10, 2011 (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)


Travolta married actress Kelly Preston in 1991. The wedding came just a year after Barresi’s claims against Travolta, as well as the news that Preston had broken off her engagement to Charlie Sheen when he accidentally shot her in the arm. Despite Travolta’s newlywed status—and the birth of their first son, Jett, in 1992—the spa allegations persisted in the tabloids. According to a story published by Yahoo! News, Travolta was banned from a Los Angeles country club and a major hotel chain in the early ’90s over his alleged penchant for hitting on men in shower rooms.


Since 1975, Travolta has been a practitioner of Scientology. In 1950, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard published a book called Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, which classified homosexuals as “the sexual pervert.” The following year, Hubbard’s 1951 Handbook for Preclears delivers instructions to Dianeticists on how to “cure” homosexuality by breaking the subject’s mental fixation on a dominant parent of the opposite sex. In a New Yorker profile of director and former Scientologist Paul Haggis published last year, Haggis spoke about his decision to leave the church after 35 years, blaming its support of Prop 8 in California, as well as the heckling his gay daughter received by fellow members.


Said Carrie Fisher in 2010: “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.”


In 1998 a Beverly Hills artist named Michael Pattinson filed a 166-page complaint against Travolta and the Church of Scientology, alleging the actor helped the church deceive him into thinking it could turn him straight. Pattinson alleged that he “reasonably relied upon” Travolta’s marriage to Preston as evidence that “Scientology processing and courses would ‘handle’ my own homosexuality,” the New York Daily News reported.


The rumors surrounding Travolta seemed to die down around the time his and Preston’s daughter, Ella Bleu, was born in 2000. Then, in 2006, The National Enquirer published a picture of Travolta embracing and kissing a man on the mouth as the two descended the steps of his private jet. The man was later identified as Jeff Kathrein, one of the Travolta family’s two nannies who, in 2009, would be the one to discover the body of Travolta’s son, Jett, after he died from a seizure.


Actress Carrie Fisher, who doesn’t pull too many punches, said of Travolta in a 2010 interview with The Advocate: “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.”

Two massage therapists have accused John Travolta of groping them. Travolta's attorney denies the allegations.STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Gloria Allred denies recruiting plaintiffs from Okorocha
NEW: "John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 called me," Allred says
"We believe that the lawsuit should be filed in another court," she says
Travolta's lawyer called the charges by both men "ridiculous"
Los Angeles (CNN) -- The remaining plaintiff in the sexual battery lawsuit against John Travolta fired his lawyer, but the case could continue with another lawyer and another court, two lawyers told CNN on Thursday.

Gloria Allred confirmed Thursday that the plaintiff known as John Doe #2 has hired her to represent him and possibly file a new legal action against the actor.

"We believe that the lawsuit should be filed in another court and, therefore, the lawsuit that was on file was dismissed without prejudice," she told CNN. "We will be conferring with our client regarding what will happen next in this case."

Okorie Okorocha, the lawyer who initially filed the lawsuit in federal court last week, said his second client called him Thursday morning and said he was fired. He later learned Allred had been hired.

The suit, which accused the actor of groping two male massage therapists at hotels in Los Angeles and Atlanta in January, is being dismissed Thursday by Okorocha.

Travolta's lawyer, Martin Singer, has called the allegations by both men "ridiculous."

John Doe #1, who said that Travolta sexually harassed him at the Beverly Hills Hotel, hired Allred on Tuesday, just hours after he withdrew from Okorocha's lawsuit.



Lawyer: Why I dropped Travolta case

Allred new lawyer for Travolta accuser Allred said Tuesday that she and John Doe #1 would discuss if a new lawsuit would be filed against Travolta.

"We are in the process of conferring with him regarding the next steps, which he may wish to take," Allred said.

That dismissal was "without prejudice, which means that he is still legally entitled to file a lawsuit against John Travolta if he chooses," Allred said.

There was no immediate reaction from Travolta's lawyer to the latest developments.

John Doe #1 withdrew from the lawsuit after it was learned Travolta was in New York, not Los Angeles, on January 16, the day he had alleged the massage incident took place.

Okorocha told CNN the date should have been January 15, but the mistake would have hampered the chances of John Doe #2 in court. He also said "personality conflicts" with John Doe #1 contributed to the decision.

The lawyer insisted in a CNN interview Tuesday that he would "mop up" in the courtroom with the allegations made by John Doe #2.

Despite losing both clients, Okorocha told CNN Thursday that he still believes they "absolutely have cases" against the actor.

He accused Allred of stealing his clients, which she told CNN was "completely false."

"Mr. Okorocha's representations are false, outrageous and defamatory," Allred said Wednesday. "John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 contacted my offices and neither I nor anyone in my law firm solicited either of these two clients. Both clients first called me and asked me to represent them."

Allred said after practicing law for 37 years, she does not solicit clients.

"Clients come to me," Allred said. "John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 called me without my having any contact with them whatsoever prior to their phone calls."

She demanded that Okorocha retract "his false statements."

"I value my reputation and will defend it vigorously both publicly and in court," she said.

Okorocha, reached by Wednesday afternoon, said he had a text message exchange on Tuesday with his client saying he was called by Allred.

"I get the case to national prominence and then someone who only does press conferences and sideshows, and doesn't actually go to court or do trials, just steps in and says, 'I'll take the clients,'" Okorocha said.

Okarocha predicted that Allred would quickly reach a settlement with Travolta that would include an agreement not to disclose its existence.

"I will find out what's in that settlement and I will get my equitable share of that settlement, because I did the majority of the work to get to where we are," he said.

Okarocha said there are two more people he represents who may become plaintiffs.

"If Travolta doesn't take responsibility, I'm going to file those cases," he said.

A former cruise line worker has brought another sex-related lawsuit against John Travolta.

Fabian Zanzi has accused the Pulp Fiction star of embracing him naked after complaining about a neck pain.

The federal lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages against the 58-year-old actor.

Zanzi claims Travolta disrobed and held him against his will during a Caribbean cruise three years ago.

The actor was recently accused in another federal lawsuit of groping two anonymous male masseurs.

The case quickly unravelled after Travolta's lawyer Martin Singer discredited one of the accusers.

He managed to show his client was on the other side of the US on the day of the first alleged incident, which supposedly took place in the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.


Travolta at the premiere of his film Savages with his wife Kelly Preston

The second masseur claimed the incident involving him took place in a hotel in Atlanta in Georgia.

Both men - known only as John Doe #1 and John Doe #2 - sued the star for £1.3m.

Singer said Zanzi's complaint was "another ludicrous lawsuit with inane claims".

Travolta is also facing a separate lawsuit from a Los Angeles man who wrote a book about his supposed gay encounters with the star.

Robert Randolph filed the libel lawsuit against both Travolta and his lawyer.

Randolph claimed Travolta and Singer had spread false rumours about his mental health in 2010.

He said this was an attempt to dissuade the public from buying his planned book about their alleged relationship.

Like Zanzi, Randolph is seeking unspecified damages. His action was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Article:
Masseur Drops Travolta Sexual Assa… Masseur Drops Travolta Sexual Assault Lawsuit
Updated: 9:20am UK, Wednesday 16 May 2012

One of the two male masseurs who accused actor John Travolta of sexual assault has dropped his $2m lawsuit.

However, the lawyer for the second masseur said he was going ahead with his case and was confident of success.

The unidentified man, referred to as John Doe No 1, who claimed that the Hollywood star groped him during a massage session in Beverly Hills in January, filed a notice dismissing his lawsuit with federal court in Los Angeles.

The man was reported last week to have said he got the wrong date of the alleged incident after photos and restaurant receipts surfaced putting the Saturday Night Fever actor in New York on the same day.

"The case has been dismissed, but that doesn't mean it can't be refiled," the plaintiff's lawyer, Okorie Okorocha, said.

Mr Okorocha said he still will be going ahead with the lawsuit involving a second unidentified man, John Doe No 2.

This man claimed that Travolta rubbed his leg, touched his genitals and tried to initiate sex at a private appointment at an Atlanta hotel on January 28.

Asked whether he was concerned about the credibility of John Doe No 2's suit in light of the first masseur's dismissal, Mr Okorocha said: "Not at all. I'm not worried about anything with John Doe 2."
Enlarge Article:
John Travolta Hit With Second Mass… John Travolta Hit With Second Masseur Lawsuit
Updated: 4:13pm UK, Wednesday 09 May 2012

John Travolta's lawyer has dismissed a second lawsuit in two days alleging sexual battery by the Hollywood star on masseurs.

Both cases were filed by the same lawyer and both fail to identify the alleged victim.

Travolta's lawyer said the second one had clearly been drawn up after the star's legal team destroyed the first case.

In the first lawsuit a masseur named only as "John Doe", who is seeking £1.2m in compensation, alleged assault and sexual battery by Travolta.

He claimed the incident happened in a private bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

The lawsuit claimed the Pulp Fiction star received a one-hour massage and then offered to give the man a "reverse massage".

"John Doe" said he told Travolta he did not have sex with clients and left - after being paid.

In response to that lawsuit, Travolta's spokesman pointed out that the actor had not even been in Los Angeles, but was on the East Coast at the time.

Travolta's lawyer Martin Singer said similar allegations had been made in the second lawsuit, filed by the same legal representative.

The new lawsuit, in the name of "John Doe 2" and also seeking £1.2m, claimed Travolta tried to engage in sexual activity with a male masseur on January 28 in a hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.

"This second 'anonymous' claim is just as absurd and ridiculous as the first one," said Singer.

He said it was clear that the masseur's lawyer had only filed the latest suit after the date problem with the first action had been pointed out.

"It is obvious that he checked media reports that my client was in Atlanta working on a movie," he said.

"However, the claim by Doe #2 is just as fabricated as the claim by Doe #1."

Travolta's spokesman said the actor would sue both the lawyer involved and the plaintiff for malicious prosecution.
Enlarge Article:
Travolta Sex Assault Claim 'Is Bas… Travolta Sex Assault Claim 'Is Baseless Lie'
Updated: 11:45am UK, Tuesday 08 May 2012

John Travolta's spokesman has dismissed a claim the Hollywood star sexually assaulted an unidentified masseur who is suing the actor for £1.2m.

According to court papers, the alleged incident took place in a hotel chalet rented by the Swordfish star in January.

The masseur, who is referred to as John Doe, claims Travolta rubbed his leg, touched him inappropriately and tried to initiate at least one sex act inside a private bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Travolta's spokesman dismissed the claim as a "baseless lie".

He added: "On the date when plaintiff claims John met him, John was not in California and it can be proved that he was on the East Coast.

"John intends to get this case thrown out and then he will sue the attorney and plaintiff for malicious prosecution."

The masseur's lawyer Okorie Okorocha said, under California law, a victim of a sexual assault can file as "John Doe" if he or she fears extreme embarrassment if their identity is known.

The lawsuit goes into detail to describe the incident, saying the massage had been arranged by an anonymous phone caller who met the masseur, picked him up and drove him to the hotel where he was to be paid £120 an hour.

"I wanted to make sure we had as much detail as possible. The more detail I have, the more accurate I think the claims are," said the lawyer.

The lawyer added: "We did discuss the matter with some of his people to see if there was any way it could be resolved... to make it easier on everyone."

But Travolta's spokesman hit back, calling the lawsuit a "complete fiction and fabrication".

He added: "None of the events claimed in the suit ever occurred."

Travolta, 58, rose to fame in the 1970s on the TV sitcom Welcome Back Kotter, then became a movie star with hits such as Saturday Night Fever, Grease and Pulp Fiction.

He has been married to his wife Kelly Preston since 1991.