John Travolta Leaving Scientology?
It isn't often that I find an article that is just full of juice and a really good read, but over the weekend, The Daily Mail had a great article about John Travolta and an interview with Rick Ross who thinks John Travolta might be leaving the Church Of Scientology.
"There have been strong rumors coming out of Scientology that John Travolta is disappointed that the religion was not able to help his son more. It's led him to question his faith."
Ross goes on to say that Travolta is really upset that the church wants him to spend time on an e-meter machine because they want to see if Travolta or any member of his family might have been negative influences on Jett and whether those negative influences caused him to die.
Yeah, that would pretty much tick me off too. Ross says that if Travolta leaves the church he will do so quietly and that he probably wouldn't speak out about them because of the information they would use against him. The Mail then goes into great detail about all of the homosexual rumors that have ever dogged Travolta and it is a very in depth and even had some information I didn't know. One of the rumors was from a Time Magazine article who are not known for printing untruths. That article was an interview with a former member of the church who said, "that the Church's leader, David Miscavige, had repeatedly joked about Travolta's promiscuous homosexual behavior".
If you have the time today I really suggest you read the whole article. It is really, really good.
47 comments:
That's sad. I hope he leaves the cult.
I don't care if he is gay. Never did. I grew up watching his movies, and I just love him. I even liked him before it was cool again. ( pre - Pulp Fiction ) If he wants to announce to the world he is gay, who cares. If he isn't, who cares. My chances of hooking up with him remain the same either way. :)
Love you John! Hope you find your happiness and you and your family can find peace after your tragic loss.
shock and dismay!
WOW.
I suspected something was us when he admitted in a police doc that Jett had autism.
I didn't know he admitted Jett had autism. I also would be shocked if he left the cult, or religion known as Scientology.
I doubt that he'll come out if he is gay though. His marriage to Kelly seems to be permanent.
If he takes Mrs. Cruise with him, we can start talking about a different John and Kate.
Run, Johnny, run!
C'mon John, take those steps and get out! How would Scientology handle this PR disaster? I hope this is true and I hope he gets out and STARTS TALKING.
Wasn't there a blind about guys splitting up? People guessed it was either Tom and John or Tom and Will? I can't find it now... but looks like it could be about Tom and John.
Anyway - my heart breaks for John. I hope he finds whatever he's looking for. I can't imagine the pain he and his family is going through.
so sad it may takes his son's death to make him see the lies that are zenu, but better late than never. too bad jett never knew anything else.
"...whether those negative influences caused him to die."
That is one of the most appalling things I've ever heard.
i hope that he has the strength to leave.
i do know that when he leaves, every salacious detail of his life will slowly come out. the same goes for tom cruise, and i suspect that tom will never leave.
The Daily News has a quote "If celebrities leave, they tend to do it quietly and keep their mouths shut, because if they do speak out, they are opening themselves up to attack from Scientology."
Anyone know of celebrities that have left Scientology?
I'm wondering the same, ali! How often do big names leave? I suspect celebrities are treated pretty well by the "religion", but who can blame John for questioning his faith after terrible comments like those of the church regarding his son? Offside.
Run Katie Run. When is she going to get away from Tommy Boy?
If you want to learn a great deal about Scientology and celebrities I highly recommend Andrew Morton's book on Tom Cruise.
It is totally a cult and I really hope Travolta leaves.
According to Wikipedia:
Former Scientologists
Adi Da (Franklin Jones),spiritual teacher
Jason Beghe, actor
Mary Bono,widow of Sonny Bono (took classes in 1989 and 1990)
Kate Bornstein,transgender author, playwright, performance artist and gender theorist
Stephen Boyd, actor
John Brodie, football player
William S. Burroughs,author and poet
Diana Canova,actress
Tory Christman, critic, whistleblower
Leonard Cohen,singer
Robert and Mary Anne de Grimston, founders of The Process Church of The Final Judgment
Werner Erhard,founder of Erhard Seminars Training
Philip Gale, MIT student and primary developer of EarthLink's innovative ISP software; committed suicide
Robert Hunter,lyricist
Al Jarreau,singer
Nicole Kidman,actress and former wife of Scientologist Tom Cruise
Charles Manson,studied Scientology for a short duration while in prison and incorporated its doctrines in his teachings
Demi Moore,actress
Van Morrison,singer
Vince Offer, director of The Underground Comedy Movie and spokesman for Shamwow!
James Packer,the second richest man in Australia
Dini Petty,Canadian television and radio host
Christopher Reeve,actor and director
Mimi Rogers,actress (former member; introduced Tom Cruise to Scientology)
Jerry Seinfeld,actor and comedian
Patrick Swayze,actor
Ali, google Jason Beghe and see what pops up.
"...It's led him to question his faith." Uh, FAITH? Really? Interesting on SO many levels. I do believe even Mr Operating Thetan 7 Cruise has said it's not a faith per se, because he can't defend it. Where's your scriptures? Bible, Koran, Torah, "What Bridges I Can Sell People" by L Ron Hubbard.
Shiiiit. Run John run. Us SP's will protect you.
I noticed in the article it appears that Kelly Preston has no problem with the religion. If that is true will this cause the couple to divorce if John leaves?
It is so sad that he's driving around on the golf course at night and taking vacations by himself. He is grieving really bad for someone who has a support system (wife and daughter).
I hope he does leave because if he stays he's not going to make it.
Poor John. I don't care if he's gay or not.
TOO LITTLE TOO LATE...
So those are former members Susan? Some of those names at the end are somewhat surprising..
I had already read the article and was surprised by the Times stuff too..
But on another note, I saw a Scientology commercial on my local Sullivan County, NY TV today.. guess it's not too surprising since we have a local chapter of it in town.. but since when did they start showing commercials to try and recruit?? ALl I can say is that I laughed.. a lot.
Robyn,
It's according to Wikipedia, so it's not like it's written in stone. The Seinfeld one is surprising to me. He seems like he would believe in nothing.
According to the book on Tom Cruise, the Scientologist peoples know every single thing about him since he's at such a high level. It sounds like Travolta is in that deep as well. And by "in deep" I mean forking over major dollars to fund projects and research, etc.
If you really want your jaw to drop, check out Wikipedia's entry on the current Scientologists. There are so many celebrities up in that.
I love Travolta and just read the Urban Cowboy Diaries. It was the diary of the writer everyday on set of Urban Cowboy. It seemed common knowledge on set that Travolta liked men but he also seemed to like women too. Think he is bisexual. Debra Winger was really slutty. He had just become huge and they wanted their bankable star straight. Thats how Scientology likes them-rich, very famous and gay.
Although I personally am not a John Travolta fan, I found The Daily Mail article heartbreaking.
Regardless of my feelings about the cult of Scientology, to experience such a profound loss and have your "church" respond in a negative manner the causes you to question your faith must be extremely painful in an of itself.
To feel blackmailed into staying on the basis of something as personal as one sexuality adds only another layer of pain and confusion that can only be complicating his grief.
I don't believe stars should "come out" just because of the fear of rumors being exposed. However, my hope is that Travolta is not paralyzed from leaving the church because of the fear that he may be exposed for his homosexual behavior. I believe his fans or anyone with a modicum of compassion would still support him both personally and as an actor.
I've read a Seinfeld quote on it, it seems he just studied Dianetics a little.
I just think it's funny to see the words "coming out" followed by John Travolta ;)
ITA, Annie.
The "church" issues coupled with the attempted blackmail from people in the Bahamas is just all-around shitty. I don't know how Travolta or Preston are holding it together at all.
People just suck. And the coverage of this story has always made me feel very badly for Travolta and his family. If this Daily Mail report is true, it sounds like he's feeling major regret on being a member of the Scientology organization. He's probably thinking if I wasn't in this, maybe my son would be alive. Just terrible.
His marriage to Kelly Preston seems pretty solid, so whether he is/was gay/bi is not the point here.
Back in the 70s and 80s everyone pretty much understood that he was gay.
The shock came when it was discovered he married Kelly.
Even if John wants to leave Scientology 'quietly' the church will not allow anyone to leave quietly. That's not their MO. Travolta was one of their biggest faces until Cruise came along and became the new posterboy. And if John is disenchanted with Scientology but his wife is not, then that will cause great problems in their marriage and their life. COS is big on people who leave never having contact with family and friends again. They pretty much get iced out. There is a lot of information from former members of COS online that rivals in shock value what was written in Morton's book on Cruise. There have also been exposes in Radaronline and I recall, an issue of Rolling Stone in the past couple of years. Its truly frightening how much power they have over their members lives. Celebrities tend to have it easier than regular folks, but from all the reading I've done on this very scary organization, the COS is in charge and will let you know IF they'll let you leave or not, and what price you will pay for doing so.
Oh man...words cannot express how disgusted I am by the COS.
I hope JT leaves their sh*t in a cloud of dust and has the nuts to go public with everything they know about him first to take the wind out of their sails.
Unless I have read everything wrong about the COS over the years--the only "power" they have over anyone is the secrets they got you to tell on yourself during their stupid mind-game brainwashing.
Sick, manipulative m*therf*ckers.
Bring em DOWN, Johhny boy, bring 'em crashing down HARD.
I say that John should bring them down and let them dish out all of the juicy details. Who cares? Celebrities can withstand anything these days. We live in a very forgiving culture, providing he didn't kill anyone or anything. If anything it could actually help his career.
But just think of the message the COS would send out to its current and future membership if they publicly smear one of their most famous defectors.
I say go for it!
Caused Jett to die....a-holes!!!
If it's true that he's leaving, then I have a new-found respect for him.
If the cult want to blackmail him into staying, the I say, come on out of the closet singing and dancing. If he comes out, they'll lose any hold on him. There is no shame in being yourself, the shame comes from living a lie.
I can't imagine how hard the past year has been on his family, and I hope that they are able to manage their pain.
I don't think John Travolta and Tom Cruise had a "close" relationship. I believe it was reported that the friction between the two was due to Scifi leader David Miscavage and Cruise being "best buds" and Miscavage putting Cruise as a second in command as opposed to Travolta who had been there years longer than Cruise. All of this was before the death of Jett.
Maybe his biggest fear isn't that the COS will out him but that it will separate him from his wife and daughter if Kelly isn't ready to leave.
Right after he lost Jett, I was taking my infant to her Grandmas and had Radio Disney playing. The song he did for Bolt came on. Part of the lyrics were
" I thought I lost you (when you ran away to try to find me)
I thought I'd never see your sweet face again
I turned around and you were gone and on and on the days went
But I kept the moments that we were in
'cause I hoped in my heart you'd come back to me, my friend
And now I got you, but I thought I lost you
(Travolta singing by himself) I felt so empty out there
And there were days I had my doubts
But I knew I'd find you somewhere
Because I knew I couldn't live without
You in my life for one more day
And I swore I'd never break those (promises we made) "
I had to pull over, I was crying so hard. My heart broke for him and his family.
While I hope he gets out, I'll be surprised if it happens.
I hate to admit this, but needing something trashy to read on the beach last week I picked up that Ian guy's book on Michael Jackson. When he wrote about Lisa Marie's marriage to MJ, he said it was due to pressure from the COS to get their hands on MJ's $$$$'s. He also mentions that John Travolta can't get away from the church, I mean cult, because of the info they have on him.
John shouldn't have to deal with any of this crap right now (or ever).
I don't understand what crap they have on John unless it is highly unethical. Forget about gay. Nobody cares anymore if he's gay. Nobody cares about his long-rumored advanced on guys in massage spas, etc. They may have something that could damage his bankability, but I hope not so that if he wants to leave he can. I certainly hope that he and Kelly have thought about that. But leaving means leaving long-term friends. It's hard to give that up. I feel for them.
The Mail article was heart-breaking. I can't imagine losing one of my children. It wouldn't surprise me if he leaves both the church and his marriage - not so uncommon after the death of a child & if he does, it probably won't have anything to do with his orientation, whatever it may be.
There is no hope for Tom Cruise. I thought there could be hope for Katie Holmes, but there isn't.
Here's hope that John will leave Scientology!
Scientology has a long history of abandoning its members. They are a a loving "family" until the problem cant be fixed with vitimins or prayer. Then they claim some sort of failure on the part of the member and turn their backs on them.
Never was a Travolta fan but losing his son was a tragedy.
I really hope he can get free of the cult, but my guess is that it won't happen until the rest of the family is ready to go, he's already lost Jett, what would it do to him to lose his daughter? I've never been a big fan of his, but no one deserves what life has dished out to him lately, I hope he can find some peace, and not of the RIP variety.
Every aspect of this is terrible. I don't set out to watch Travola's movies per se but if he did come out of the closet it wouldn't change my impression of his acting skills in the least. Frankly I'm much more turned off by the whole Xenu thing than him liking guys the way I like guys. Imagine how bleak it must be to live being blackmailed by the church you thought was the greatest thing ever, your whole family is involved in it as are your friends, and now they suggest it was your fault your child passed away? I think this is the lowest thing I've heard in a long time.
I think the best thing that could happen for Jon would be for him to leave the church and let the chips fall where they may.
Like Susan, I read Andrew Morton's book on Tom Cruise. That David Miscavage is about as evil as they come. I can't imagine feeling what John is going thru now. He probably feels he let down the one pure soul around him, his son Jett. It must suck to be famous, have so many secrets and no one to trust.
I think you guys are underestimating the shock that fans of his would go through. I mean we are all knowlegable here but have any of you mentioned travolta's homosexualality to friends/family? I have and NO believed me. Also remember Clay Aiken's come out? Everyone on the planet should have know he was gay but what was the reaction his 'fans' had? Incredulity, shock, dismay, anger and so forth. Due to being lied to by Aiken and convinced he was straight there were reports full of fans that felt betrayl over this. And Travolta is a MUCH bigger star who is MARRIED and has/had 2 kids. Rumors are rumors but him putting himslf out there (as much as that would be amazing) would be devestating to his career. And most actors LIVE for their careers (hello coke mom). So he would never leave, maybe he will see the light and no longer belive in it but i doubt he will leave. Especially cause his wife is still in the koolaid cult too.
How long were Aiken's fans shocked, dismayed, etc? A day? A week? Beats the hell out of going through life paranoid that someone is going to out you for a dime. I think Travolta's fan base is mature enough to handle that they still aren't going to get into his pants.
Sounds like he needs to face that fear head on, so that he can live his life. This is not a dress rehearsal, and every moment is precious. Make them count.
@ lisa- I am not advocating for him to stay in the closet. What I was trying to do was show what the reality could be for him. Using Aiken was an example of someone most people already assumed WAS gay and still his fan base was rocked by his admission. While I think it would be wonderful for him to live an open happy life I just am slightly sceptical it would be as easy as some of you think. Many acctors DO come out of the closet nowadays, i.e. TR Knight, Aiken, Neil Patrick Harris, Lance Bass, etc. However these are all younger guys from a different generation than people like Travolta, they seem to be able to get away with it more than the older more established actors/singers. I mean look at Kevin Spacey, in the closet with no scientology to blackmail him there and still he wouldnt come out if you gave him a crowbar.
Still, though, I am rooting for Travolta to escape/come out, even if my cynicism is getting in the way.
Dear John,
Leave the church,they are not there to help you or your family. They only want money.
DO NOT worry about your movie public. You have all of our hearts and sympathy.
We too have a son like Jett.
Scientology is not capable of accepting people with different needs.
Jett was a gift and the lord took him back.
PLEASE speak out for children like Jett and never worry that the church could destroy you.
The American public supports you and Kelly.
Please do the right thing.
Move forward and let this group show their true colors.
We do NOT care about your past, you have given us great joy as did Jett to you.
Live your memories of Jett with an open heart and reach out to the thousands of children with ASD and Jett will smile from heaven.
God Bless, Be strong.
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