John Travolta Responds To Gay Rumors, Pending Lawsuit

John Travolta Responds To Gay Rumors, Pending Lawsuit

John Travolta is speaking out about gay rumors and a pending lawsuit filed against him by an alleged former lover.

The Daily Beast recently spoke with Travolta about a 2012 lawsuit filed by Douglas Gotterba, a pilot who worked for Travolta's Alto airline company in the 1980s. Gotterba told the National Enquirer he was "unwillingly thrust" into the limelight after Travolta was accused of sexual battery and wanted to “tell the story of his life and those involved in it" in a book.

"This is every celebrity’s Achilles heel. It’s just about people wanting money. That’s all. It happens on many levels," Travolta said. Adding: "Also, I don’t care that much about [those types of allegations]. Other people may attack it back more than I do, but I let all the media stuff go a long time ago because I can’t control it. I think that’s why it persists, to some degree."

In July, a California appeals court granted Gotterba the right to argue in a lawsuit that he is not bound by confidentiality terms that would bar him from discussing his relationship with Travolta, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Gotterba worked for Alto for six years. Although he signed a termination agreement in 1987, Gotterba claims it was just a pre-draft and the actual agreement did not contain any confidentiality clause.

Rumors regarding Travolta's sexuality have been circulating for years, but Travolta said he found the gossip particularly offensive following the death of his 16-year-old son, Jett, in 2009. Tabloids claimed Jett was found by nanny Jeff Kathrein, who was supposedly Travolta's lover.

"I found it most offensive with the loss of my son," the 60-year-old star told the Daily Beast. "I felt like that was the lowest I’d ever felt. Sex stuff is always going to be interesting to somebody, but you stay away from family. You really should. With that, I always felt like the media -- not all of the media, but parts of it -- went too low there."

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