On Friday, we discussed the latest news in the John Travolta scandal, which I’m now just going to call Masseur-gate. (Sidenote: the name “Masseur-gate” makes John Travolta think of entryways and backdoors.) Last we heard, a third man, a Chilean named Fabian Zanzi, had come forward to claim that Travolta had propositioned him for a massage and for sex on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. Travolta allegedly offered Zanai $12,000 for the services, which Zanzi refused. On Friday, we also discussed how Travolta’s first accuser, John Doe #1, had changed his story – Doe #1 now says that he got the dates wrong, and that Travolta groped and assaulted him on an earlier date. I said at the time that Doe #1’s credibility took a big hit with the story change, and it looks like Doe #1’s lawyer feels the same way – the lawyer just dropped the first masseur.
The first man who filed a shocking lawsuit accusing A-list actor John Travolta of assault and sexual battery has been dropped by his legal counsel RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively. The shocking move comes on the same day that RadarOnline.com broke the news Travolta’s accuser admitted he was wrong about the date of the alleged attack.
The Texas man who filed the lawsuit as John Doe #1 hired Los Angeles lawyer Okorie Okorocha to represent him but in a stunning turn of events, Okorocha is no longer handling his case. John Doe #1 claimed Travolta sexually assaulted him in Los Angeles on January 16, 21012 and said he could prove Travolta was in town then.
But Travolta’s attorney Marty Singer not only vehemently denied the charges, he also provided proof that his client was in New York on the day John Doe #1 claimed the assault took place.
The accuser’s attorney decided on May 11 to drop him.
“Okorocha did not feel he could represent John Doe #1 going forward anymore and recommend him finding another lawyer,” a source exclusively told RadarOnline.com. “He is still representing John Doe #2 other alleged victims who are possibly coming forward.”
Singer, one of Los Angeles’ top attorneys, adamantly denied the incident took place since the lawsuit was filed, telling RadarOnline.com that he had definitive proof, including flight records and hotel receipts, that would show his client was not even in Los Angeles on January 16, 2012 when John Doe #1 said the assault took place in the Beverly Hills Hotel. As RadarOnline.com exclusively reported, John Doe #1 has said that his original date of Jan. 16 was a “miscalculation” and that the alleged assault actually took place a few days earlier.
[From Radar]
That’s pretty rough. But… I still think it’s odd that Travolta’s lawyer has yet to go after the second masseur’s story, which, in my mind, seemed WAY more plausible and easily verifiable. As Masseur-gate picks up steam, the common thread is always massages, groping, sweat and desperation. It feels like a pattern. It feels like Travolta has pulled this act so many times. Guess what? The New York Daily News has an interesting piece about just that – their sources claim that Travolta was so skeevy and gross to the masseurs at the Peninsula Hotel Spa, the spa had to “ban” him. You can read the whole piece here, and here are some highlights from the report:
A staffer at the swank Peninsula Hotel claims John Travolta was banned after several creepy run-ins with the spa’s male employees. But the temporary ban in the early 2000s was eventually lifted and the “Pulp Fiction” star was welcomed back, says a former staff member.
Travolta was banished to the Fifth Ave. hotel’s “no-thigh zone” after his inappropriate antics led to an insurrection, said Michael Caputo, a one-time Peninsula masseur.
“Travolta would always request a man for his massage, but after a while no one would take him because of his inappropriate behavior,” Caputo said. “It got to the point where they couldn’t find any men to take him, and they had to ban him,” recalled the masseur known as Magic Mike, who claimed he worked at the Peninsula from 1992-2008.
Travolta’s stay on the blacklist was about three years, and followed a complaint to the hotel’s bosses, said Caputo — who boasted his past clients include Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez. The masseur said the sanction against the former “Sweathog” occurred roughly a decade ago. Hotel officials didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Travolta’s attorney, Marty Singer, dismissed the allegation as complete nonsense — noting that his client was at the hotel’s famous rooftop spa as recently as six months ago.
“If he was banned, do you think he’d ever go back?” Singer asked. “He’s never been banned, I guarantee you. . . . The hotel never told John he was banned, and John never acted improperly.”
Caputo, 55, said male staffers complained about Travolta removing his towel, grinding against the massage table and lifting his butt in the air.
“These are signs to a massage therapist that he was trying to see how much he could get away with,” said Caputo. “They went to management.”
[From The New York Daily News]
OMG. Do you have the image now? Do you believe this “disgruntled ex-employee”? Or do you believe Travolta’s lawyer, who doesn’t explicitly deny that Travolta ever grinded against the table and lifted his butt in the air – the denial is only about the ban and a vague “John never acted improperly.” Define “improperly.” Do it.
Meanwhile, some of you have been wondering about Kelly Preston and what she’s been doing while Travolta’s dirty, sweaty laundry is being aired in public. Well, she had a “new” interview on The Conversation with Amanda De Cadenet which aired last week – but it was recorded before Masseur-gate. There are reports that Team Travolta is “purposefully” keeping Kelly “under wraps”. A source tells Fox News, “It’s a means of damage control and will protect her from any public scrutiny.” Basically, Kelly is being told to STFU and just wait until John is ready to do a happy heterosexual family photo op.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZma2pmbIF4e9aaqpiin527oMDRmq2opKSWrKOtzaecnZeWp7yuq8CYpbKbj528tbHLmKqpmY%2BbvLOryKeYqaiipL2ztcCtnJialZ2ut7XOq2Y%3D