John Travolta is gay. This came up at some point during a dinnertime “conversation” a few months back at Autostraddle Design Director Alex‘s family’s house when I mentioned off-hand that John Travolta was gay.
“John Travolta is gay,” is a thing I thought I could say out loud at a dinner table and it would be about as innocuous and unanimously-agreed-upon as a statement like, “these rolls are delicious!” or “your daughter is a very talented designer!”
I was wrong. It turns out that “John Travolta is gay” is not a thing that everybody knows about or agrees upon. For example, Alex’s Dad did not know that John Travolta was gay and was not taking my word for it. Sometimes I feel like we unknowingly live in a bubble that might be imaginary where we make shit up and then circle-jerk our way into believing our own rumors. But also, this guy from moveline.com said: “Frankly, just about everyone knows John Travolta is gay. I know it. You probably know it. My grandmother knows it and she barely speaks English.”
Now the deal has been sealed via Carrie Fisher in The Advocate:
In the September 2009 issue of Out, you participated in its monthly Can I Be Blunt? column by sharing 10 things that gay men should know about straight women. One of those things was, “We don’t really care that John Travolta is gay.” I know you and Travolta go way back, so let’s get really blunt here: Does his legal team have any business demanding Gawker remove a recent post suggesting that he’s given blow jobs?
Wow! 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.
I remember once mentioning John Travolta being gay in an Autostraddle article and a commenter getting pissed at me for my lack of sensitivity towards Travolta when his son had recently died. Obviously I felt that mentioning “John Travolta is gay” would not interfere with John Travolta’s grieving process — primarily because John Travolta doesn’t read/care about Autostraddle.com (or, probs, any gay media), but mostly ’cause I hate the idea that “gay” = NEGATIVE.
The politics of “outing” are murky, and there’s a bit of outrage on both sides regarding Carrie Fisher’s statement. Generally, the rule seems to be you can out a hypocrite (e.g., Ted Haggard, Larry Craig) but it’s unseemly to out anyone who hasn’t talked shit about the gays. John Travolta hasn’t necessarily talked shit about gay people. So we should just lay off, right?
But here’s the thing: last month a Gawker post (The Secret Sex Life of John Travolta) detailed John Travolta’s alleged frequent sexual dalliances at the LA City Spa, according to a possibly completely unreliable source who’d written an entire book on the matter. One might let this blow over. Or one might enlist your lawyers to shoot Gawker a five-page document threatening to sue. You can read the document here.
When you suggest that gay rumors are “defamation” — um, well, I can’t think of anything more negative than that!
Travolta’s been antagonistic about gay rumors for some time, but by getting into litigation he’s sending a very clear & destructive message to his fans and the world. Because really? I mean really? Does John Travolta honestly think that these unsubstantiated claims are going to effect his career? Does John Travolta need the money? No. There’s something far more sinister at work here than that. Remember when Tom Cruise sued over gay rumors? Right.
Memo to John Travolta: Here’s how people who are comfortable with their heterosexuality respond to rumors about their sexuality:
Johnny Galecki: “I’ve never really addressed those rumors because I always figured, why defend yourself against something that’s not offensive?”
Daniel Radcliffe: “If people want to say that, they can. But I’m not. I’m straight.”
Elijah Wood: “[elijahwoodisveryverygay] is actually a personal favorite of mine, it’s absolutely hilarious. It’s this kind of joke Web site that maintains that they have proof that I am very, very gay in various photographs — photographic evidence (of me) holding hands with a male… These people have a lot of time on their hands and my hat’s off (to them) because it’s very good work.”
Chace Crawford (on rumors that he’s dating his co-star Ed Westwick): “I just throw my head back and laugh. It’s not hard to deal with when there’s no truth to it.”
James Franco: “I’d tell you if I was. I guess the reason I wouldn’t is because I’d be worried that it would hurt my career. I suppose that’s the reason one wouldn’t do that, right? But no, that wouldn’t be something that would deter me. I’m going to do projects that I want to do.”
Oprah Winfrey: “The reason why it irritates me is because it means somebody must think I’m lying. Why would you want to hide it? That is not the way I run my life.”
In addition to vehement denial of his homosexuality, such as being married to a woman and getting upset when people think he’s gay — Travolta is also a proud Scientologist. Travolta joined the church at 21 because they seemed “so certain and happy” and everyone he knew was “insecure and unhappy.”
Allegedly, The Church of Scientology is noted for its ability to protect its gay celebrity members — they give big bucks, are promoted to Lord Alien of the 40th Dimension or whatever, and the litigation-happy Church intimidates the world against revealing their member’s sexualities. (Will Smith and Tom Cruise are also Scientologists.) OR, if you believe other theories, the church collects such secrets as blackmail against their celebrity followers. As a journalist I’ve been told never to write about Scientology because they will fuck you up/sue. ABC’s 20/20 documentary on Scientology is definitely worth watching, and even Wikipedia details its illegal activities, extensive legal waivers members must sign and its hazardous behavior around members’ health and safety. Also, a former Scientologist sued the Church after he’d spent 500K to get cured of his homosexuality — the lawsuit claimed Travolta was held up as an example of how successfully one could be cured of one’s homoesxuality.
Okay, here’s the thing: Scientology is really f*cked up — you can watch some documentaries about it here. It’s super anti-psychiatry while simultaneously exerting control over its minions via severe psychological manipulation, mind control and Stockholm Syndromey conditions while convincing them that the very thing that is making them crazy is actually a solution to insanity. In other words, they switch up the definition of ‘sane’ and ‘insane.’ That’s dangerous and sketchy and has led to some very serious consequences.
ANYHOO!
So, is it wrong to out John Travolta? Salon.com has a nuanced reaction to the outing and then also there’s this one from Movieline:
There’s been a fair amount of hand-wringing online about the outing, with most of the vitriol directed at Fisher, claiming she overstepped her bounds, invaded her friend’s privacy, and betrayed his trust. The argument goes that, if Travolta truly is gay, it’s up to him when to decide to come out, not Carrie Fisher.
Which is a fair argument if Travolta A.)Wasn’t married to a woman and B.)Wasn’t a prominent member of a notorious cult that claims that homosexuality is a perverse illness that can be cured. There are plenty of movie and television stars who are gay but simply don’t talk about it; that’s not what Travolta is doing. He’s actively participating in a sham, a fraud that further perpetuates the idea that being gay is shameful and should be kept secret and tamped down.
Anyhow, back to my pointless personal anecdote: Alex’s Dad rendered all my blind item tips invalid as hearsay. My strongest piece of evidence — besides “common knowledge” — was that I know at least three people who worked with John Travolta on the Hairspray movie who have confirmed his “open secret.” Furthermore, everyone I know who works in The Business of Show acknowledge Travolta’s sexuality as a FACT.
In order to prove my point to Alex’s Dad — the conversation’s tones had elevated to the upper echelons of volume because he’s a Firefighter/Vietnam Vet and I’m a Radical Feminist Lesbian Hippie and that’s how these things go — I did a little internet search and subsequently found several news articles, mostly from The National Enquirer, which confirmed John Travolta’s homosexuality. Unfortunately TNE is not considered a bastion of truth.
But Carrie Fisher? She counts and therefore I WIN! I WIN!
Sidenote, this is still one of my favorite movie moments of all time:
John Travolta’s homosexuality is one of those open secrets, isn’t it? His wife belongs to Scientiology as well and Scientiology are known for trying to “cure” homosexuals, or at least beard them with other homosexual scientiologists and make them have kids and appear like a straight family. Plus, they make them confess so many intimate details about their lives just so they can help getting rid of their ‘illness’ that even if they want to leave Scientiology, they can’t, because they’re basically blackmailed. Which seems to be the case with John Travolta. I feel sorry for him.
I don’t feel sorry for Travolta because he’s part of a homophobic cult. I do feel sad for his wife and kids.
Is this a lavender marriage though or is Kelly totally clueless?
It’s a sham marriage of convenience, that’s why I don’t feel sorry for her. I do feel for the kids and the environment they are growing up in.
So you’re a friend of the family, then?
“Sometimes I feel like we unknowingly live in a bubble that might be imaginary where we make shit up and then circle-jerk our way into believing our own rumors.”
No, no that’s Fox News.
best comment ever.
Very good documentary on Scientology (the one where the BBC journalist lost his cool while touring the anti-psychiatry museum).
Panorama: Scientology and Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuJlZ_f1594
“When you suggest that gay rumors are “defamation” — um, well, I can’t think of anything more negative than that!”
Can you really argue that accusations of adultery, regardless of the gender of the people involved, are anything less than defamatory?
they are definitely defamatory. but this is what happens to famous people every day and nobody sues. usually the fact that it’s not true is enough comfort for any number of people accused of infidelity every single day from brad pitt to lindsay lohan. unless, of course, homosexuality is implied. then, if your name is john travolta or tom cruise, it’s time to start litigating!
I feel like John Travolta is probably suing because of the ‘gay’ part of the adultery accusations. But to Rachel’s point, celebrities do sue over claims of hetero adultery as well, like Cameron Diaz, David Beckham, Ashton Kutcher, Eddie Cibrian etc
First, Carrie Fisher is amazing.
I thought that Will Smith had been approached by Scientologists, but turned them down? Personally, I’ve never gotten gay vibes from Smith. His wife, sure.
Kelly must know that her husband is gay. How could she not? But why mess with a plan that works for her? She’s beautiful, got loads of money, and has lovely kids who are not loved any less by either of their parents. Oh sure, those kids are going to be messed up for sure, but I think (hope?) that she and John are intelligent and sensitive enough to provide as peaceful and nurturing environment as they can for them.
I didn’t, and still do not buy that she was pregnant with their new son. One, at her age, it’s possible, but unlikely. Two, this pregnancy conveniently occurred as gay rumors about John became really rampant, to show “See world, John CAN’T be gay, because he f***s his wife so much that they were able to make a new baby, even at their ages!”. Three, John friggin’ flew to Australia just as Kelly was “days away from going into labor”. Really? Who’d do that? They HAD to have had a surrogate.
Oh sure, those kids are going to be messed up for sure, but I think (hope?) that she and John are intelligent and sensitive enough to provide as peaceful and nurturing environment as they can for them.
Umm… I think it’s safe to say they’ve failed in that regard. I know I’m really opening myself up here to get yelled at, but scientologists think psychiatry is evil and that’s why travolta’s son (who has since passed) was never treated for his autism. there have also been allegations that travolta’s bf was caring for his son despite being unqualified.
scientology ruins lives and has settled at least two multi-million dollar lawsuits which allege scientology basically murdered two different people (ellie perkins, murdered by her schizo son who was never treated b/c scientology hates psychiatry, and Lisa McPherson who again was mentally ill but not treated and died after spending 10 days in a Scientology hotel room with people who were not taking care of her).
For sure, but what I meant was that I think (again, HOPE) that the Travoltas realize that their children are human beings, and as such, NEED as much love and guidance as their parents can give them. John/Kelly may be crazy, but I don’t think that they’re malicious. I do believe that they, in their own demented ways, sincerely love their kids.
wait, is elijah wood not gay? is everything i know about the world wrong? what is happening
ditto for johnny galecki… thank god joseph gordon-levitt isn’t on that list
also, just a PSA for you guys: if you are already having a shitty day reading all the wikipedia articles on scientology that riese linked to will not make it any better. just fyi.
Okay, yes, it’s an open secret.
But I honestly can’t get behind the newsmedia or Fisher on this one. No one has the right to declare your sexual orientation for you, and if and when to come out is a personal decision.
IMHO, the only loophole to that rule is outing folks who actively and publicly campaign against the gays. Ted Haggard and Larry Craig fall into this category. Travolta does not.
John Travolta also only goes by “John Travolta.” That’s so gay.
I loved when Carrie Fisher was honest about her parents marraige
She said:
Throughout the years, Carrie has made peace with her early family life and come to understand her parents relationship and their 1950s image as America’s Sweethearts: “They were crippled by that. They were never really in love. They loved being loved in a way as a couple. My mother says the went onto Yankees Stadium once and 30,000 people stood up and cheered. So literally they were a concept and born in a publicity office practically and they embraced being embraced.”
She also said that her mother was a lesbian.
When I quoted the above in response to a post on Facebook about Carrie Fisher, someone got kind of offended by it saying that the couple ‘was from her generation and were most definitely madly in love and one of them got mad at the other after they cheated on the other etc.
And I thought? Hang on? Surely Carrie would know the truth? Sometimes bearding is only a known fact to very few people in the bearding person’s lives.
But it is reasons like this why I half disagree with Heather’s post on AE about how we should blindly accept someone is straight if they say so and stop creating our own rumors/fantasies about famous people being gay. Lavender marriages still exist. Closeted actors lose their loves because they get fed up in the end of the lies.
If a closeted politician says he not gay do I have to believe him? No. At the same time though, I’m not going to lose sleep over it. But all is not black and white and there are reasons – or at least many famous people are convinced that there are reasons – famous people will not/do not come out.
I think there’s a difference between a lavender marriage and choosing to marry straight. If I decided to marry a man because it was easier and I thought that was worth the sacrifices then that’s my decision to make. Yeah I still would be gay but I don’t think there’s any guarantee that I would have to be unhappy or never have some sort of love with my husband and “straight” identity. After all I’m sure Carrie Fischers mum experienced benefits as well as sacrifices to her decision.
Do I like those kinds of marriages? No and I hate how their silence contributes to a culture of shame for gays but at the same time I do respect that decision for those who choose to make it strange as it sounds. I think some people can be happy that way even though I don’t think I ever could.
Fair enough though it sounds like John Travoltas got his male lovers on the side and that does point to more of a lavender marriage idea but ya never know. Maybe John loves his wife and she loves him and doesn’t mind him gettin some male action every now again? Can we really assume its a sham marriage?
I think queer theory has messed with my head. I just have difficulties judging a lavender marriage or a gay person choosing to have a straight relationship. We don’t know what all these people are thinking and feeling and why they’re doing what they’re doing. We can call John Travolta gay but realistically what DO we know about his relationship with his wife or his sexual orientation? Cos I could fuck as many guys as I want but it doesn’t make me straight. Surely it can work both ways?
Pretty much everything I wanted to say about the situation. Plus – isn’t it entirely possible that he’s bisexual?
most of my own personal opinion comes from first-hand information from friends or friends-of-friends (more than i mentioned in this piece or to alex’s dad, even) — which, isolated, are meaningless, but as a whole are meaningful. and i can say with 95% confidence that the man is gay.
however according to the information that the general public has been given about his personal life, it would be safe to conclude that he is bisexual, yes.
I’m kind of torn about this. On one hand, yes, all the signs are pointing toward Travolta being if not actively douchey about this, then at least ignorant about his douchiness. But on the other…we’re assuming that just because he’s famous means that it’s okay to publicly out him? Scientology aside, if someone doesn’t want to be known as gay, then what right do we have to police them?
The fact that he went all Scientologist on us when he was only 21 also gives me pause. You say yourself that they use Stockholm-y tactics, so it’s obviously possible that Travolta isn’t working with a full deck anymore. It has to be a shit situation no matter which way you look at it, so is outing him really going to help anything?
yes, definitely i think he’s been completely brainwashed by scientology. the fact that he started at 21 is insane.
i don’t think carrie fisher aimed to “out” john travolta. it wasn’t a “john travolta is gay” interview. she was asked a question by a magazine and chose not to lie. i do think it’s unfortunate that everybody is expected to lie to protect somebody making a decision that they may or may not like. travolta doesn’t hide his sexuality from his co-workers, only from the world. he’s comfortable he won’t get f*cked for this because the church of scientology will destroy anyone who sins against it.
i do think it sends a very negative message to the gay children of america to actively hide your sexuality, by suing when people say he’s gay he’s suggesting that gayness is a bad thing to be and he promotes the idea that the right religion will cure you.
also i maybe watched three hours of scientology documentaries last night and should probably just be sent to a padded room at this point.
I…am consciously staying away from the Scientology documentaries at this point. I think there might be some residual crazy to be picked up.
I’m always so on the line when it comes to the “responsibility” of being famous, or whatever – like yes, anyone who is a public figure has a certain amount of power and using that power stupidly is bad, but then also why do we expect more from these people when at the end of the day it’s their career, and blah blah so on and so forth.
I guess I think that the paparazzi dogpile sends a stronger message than Travolta’s reaction to it. Like it makes ME nervous to be possibly be a public figure someday. My sexuality isn’t all that easy to define, so my inclination, even now, is to just not talk about it out of simplicity’s sake. Sometimes hiding isn’t out of shame – and I’m not saying that that’s the case with Travolta, but the whole thing kinda leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
I’m trying to articulate my feelings on this and failing. I think it might be finals. (Probably is finals.)
I’m not sure how far the brainwashing can work on a person. I was in denial of my sexuality for a while and religious brainwashing was part of that. And then I had to come around to it, mostly because of making out with lesbians and being mesmerized by girls in low-cut shirts. Denial will only get you so far, especially if you act on the things you’re intrigued by.
Hypothetical scenario: if you are a man in the 2000s and are in the middle of enthusiastically giving a guy a blowjob, at some point you will come to the realization that you are blowing a guy, you think it’s super hot, and this may have some implications as to your sexual orientation. OK, maybe the first three or four times, you’re all men just having some extra-manly fun times, but after a few dozen times, there has to be some kind of dawning realization, right?
My strongest feeling about this is that I don’t want Travolta to be gay. I would do perfectly fine without all the douchebags being outed. I don’t want them associated with me or my community.
But don’t you think it’s sort of hypocritical that, as a gay rights movement, we often use the argument that gay people are everywhere – doctors, lawyers, teachers, swim coaches etc…and then turn around and say ‘Oh, but, this person that person and that person…we don’t ‘want’ them…we don’t want them to be known as gay and we don’t want them representing our community’? I’m Jewish, and, if I could, I’d gladly not have Bernie Madoff as a member of the Jewish community. But he’s Jewish and that’s that.
I don’t know how I feel about this. I never knew about these rumors at all (apparently I live under a rock). I have only seen Grease once or twice, and I’ve never seen Saturday Night Fever. I’m not familiar with any more of his filmography and his life is pretty much not relevant to my life. If he’s gay, it sucks for him because he is probably not being the happiest John Travolta he could be right now. If he isn’t then he should have handled the allegations differently. But what I’m saying is that it’s not really a big deal for me. So Scientology hates gays. So does the Mormon church, the Catholic Church, Islam, and a lot of other religious institutions… It sucks, but what can you do? Dissenting on an online comment board changes very little.
/nihilistic rant incurred by final papers and/or exams
“I never knew about these rumors at all”
Thank god I’m not the only one! I feel like I have my finger on the pulse of closeted actors and I missed this completely, maybe it’s because I only care about not-all-that-famous people who’ve been on my favourite tv shows.
I didnt know either!!
I’m kinda confused about scientology. On one hand I’m like this seems evil and crazy and WTF. On the other hand I watched Kirstie Alley’s Big Life (Yes this really is the other side of my argument) and she seemed very normal and had a gay assistant and I’m kinda like really? Is she actually a religious nutbag?
I dunno like I know there’s plenty of evidence out there but part of me still feels like I want to sit down and talk with a scientologist and hear their side of things before I make that judgement ya know? That Hubbard fella really was wacky though.
He’s gay? I’m so way out of the loop.
I didn;t know anything about this either.
I don’t know why you care if he’s gay or not. He’s a freaky scientologist, fine, but what does that have to do with your quest to out him? i’m getting vibes of perezhilton here…
oh for chrissake
it’s a story that’s in the news. at this time there are currently more than 300 articles listed on google news on the topic of what carrie fisher said to the advocate. it’s been on every website, every entertainment news show, in all the stupid magazines… nobody is “questing” to out anybody, nor do we have the drive or desire to out anyone — or the power to do so. trust me, if we did, we wouldn’t start with john freaking travolta.
this specific case is an entry point to a larger discussion.
“trust me, if we did, we wouldn’t start with john freaking travolta”
AMEN.
hahahaha weeeeee
FOUR FOR YOU GLEN COCO, YOU GO GLEN COCO!
That video is enough proof for me…
For some strange reason this reminds me I need to read Ricky Martin’s biography. I mean, how about him? How strongly did he deny gay rumors before coming out?
OMG Ricky Martin is gay?!
lol.
There was a woman I work with who was actually totally shocked by that revelation.
We had a good laugh at her expense, let me tell you.
How could you not see that one coming?
must… resist… pun…
tremendous…..restraint…
I agree with everything you said Riese and not just because you are a radical lesbian feminist (which isn’t technically correct,and to me a good thing anyway).But rather I think it’s time for a few male gay role models to show up and be counted.You know,maybe grow the fuck up.
It’s interesting to me that young women have some real good gay role models in T & S,the Baby Beaver bunch,your web site,lots of other young gay musicians and artists etc.But for young gay males? Pretty slim pickings as far as I can tell.
But,to really sum this up one must re-watch the South Park episode “Locked in the Closet”.Because it’s obvious the South Park boys get exactly what you saying about pretending to be someone you are not and they also nicely skewer Scientology.Nice article.
re: gay male role models, I don’t know! Neil Patrick Harris, Chris Colfer, Adam Lambert, Russel Tovey – and the first three each have more exposure than tegan, sara & the bbb combined. In some ways I feel like young gay men (especially young, gay, white, wealthy men) are way more exposed than lesbian women, seems like there are many more middle-aged out women – not that there’s anything wrong with that and not that they aren’t good role models, because of course they are, and vital ones – I think Ellen DeGeneres has done huge amounts of work combating homophobia where it counts – among SAHPs. But yeah, she’s not so young. I feel like a lot of the lesbian women it goes the other way – gay girls seek out Tegan & Sara, Clea DuVall movies, etc, the exposure isn’t there already.
I told my gay roommate about this and he doesn’t believe me. He just said, “I feel like that’s one of those is he or isn’t he things, and besides, he has a son.” How can I make him understand….
all thoughts about situations like this aside, I LEARNED A NEW TERM TODAY.
“LAVENDER MARRIAGE” i knew this was a thing but i didn’t know this thing actually had a name.
The Church of Scientology has this exhibit thing in LA called Psychiatry: An Industry of Death. It was one of the most insane things I’ve ever seen.
i’ve been there.
they were really, really pushy about getting us to give money and sign things at the end and it was really hard to leave politely. they also stood between us and the door, major pet peeve.
as soon as we were able to get out, we just all made various moaning noises for a few minutes.
worst museum ever.
worst free thing ever.
worst ever.
it is sad, I want him to be and not think gay=bad and be happy and find a nice partner to dance with and get away from those terrifying scientologist people. Goodness those links were scary.
Does anyone else sometimes mix up Scientology and Mormonism? I just can’t keep religious homophobic cults straight, I guess.
I just did that. i keep it straight with thinking scientology = one episode of southpark and mormonism = 19 kids and counting
The Duggars (19 kids etc) are actually part of the Quiverfull movement — not Mormonism — which is an offshoot of evangelical Christianity. So, you know, ANOTHER freaky thing to keep you up nights.
(Yes, to anyone who might be looking to defend the Quiverfull movement, it IS freaky, and I will happily direct you to the stories of survivors if you’re looking to have your day ruined.)
Their quiver is definitely full.
ohmygod, there goes my archery pun of the year.
I *bow* down to you for that one. Oooooooh!
Katharine I am with you on this one. Holy god, the things they teach their children.
Yeah, Quiverfull is fucked fucked up scary thing.
This weekend I learned about Catholicism from a documentary about child sexual abuse by clergy, Mormons from a Prop 8 documentary, and probably will round it out with one of those Scientology documentaries over the weekend. I learned 95% of my total knowledge about those groups in the last two days!
I am obviously biased towards people who don’t suck. Also, I love Netflix for supplying my leftist propaganda.
Dang, Leia…Why you gotta out Vinnie Barbarino like that yo?
yesssssssssssssssss
“I told you I could not, in good conscience, be a member of an organization where gay-bashing was tolerated.”
from Paul Haggis’ Scientology resignation letter.
I feel like this is the time when I found out Rosie O’Donnell was gay and I cried and then watched a “League of Their Own” and felt better.
I thought Travolta like Cruise being gay was pretty well known. The fact he hides it and then shields himself behind the principles of Scientology makes him a bit of an ass though.
I don’t think Carrie Fisher did anything wrong. I think Riese said it perfectly in a follow up comment she doesn’t have the responsibility to lie when asked a direct question. And she is Carrie Fisher! She isn’t going to lie if asked a direct question. Its not like she would expect anyone to do so for her (as if she had any secrets she wouldn’t say out loud for the world to hear). This is what makes Carrie Fisher awesome.
More to the point, I do think outing is complex. I don’t think threatening to sue is quite the same as denouncing gays. I see the point. But several married men have threatened to sue over rumors of straight affairs (Ashton Kutcher and David Beckham come to mind). And the Gawker story wasn’t just about being gay it was very detailed stories about his sex life and preferences. Something I wouldn’t love to have out there either (and I have no secrets about who I am).
More than that, I do think sexuality is a complex thing and people who struggle with it make more complex than it has to be. And while any sane person would look at John Travolta’s sex life and say he is gay I am not sure he sees it quite that way. Just because he is gay (100% no shades of gray) doesn’t mean his marriage is a sham. He could see the love and commitment he has with is wife as real. They have children together. They lost a child together. These are genuine bonds. His affairs with men could just be this side thing to JT that doesn’t effect or have any relation to his marriage.
And the point to that is, I don’t think John Travolta has the responsibility to come out if he isn’t even at a point where he fully understands he is gay. Or what being gay means, that its not an addiction or an illness to be cured by forking money over to the nearest Alien Clam. He needs to get away from Scientology.
Basically, the man seems to be seriously messed up. I don’t think he is at a point where he can be honest with the public until he can be honest with himself. And as long as he doesn’t openly bash gays I prefer letting him work it out in private. BUT that doesn’t mean everyone who has ever met him as a responsibility to lie too.
yes, i agree. i think for anyone to ‘out’ john travolta as that guy is doing with his book is lame and unnecessary. but if somebody is asked a question about him then i don’t think anyone should be required to lie when asked a question. i mean the advocate asked the question, not carrie fisher.
honestly..we gossip and love to hear the gossip regardless if it’s true or not because it’s entertaining..i don’t give a rat’s ass if he’s gay or not because John Travolta is a good person who was dealt the worse had life can bring..losing someone you love especially a child..as far as his wife..it’s Kelly’s decision and hers alone to stay with him regardless of his sexual preference..were not to judge her on that because we ourselves have dirty laundry that we don’t like to air.
and Carrie Fisher…the Hollywood Starlet whose recently been bashing half of Hollywood to regain fame???
or the one who recently proposition Mr. Travolta via thru an interview she was on and it got back to him. John Travolta said he was flatter however preferred his wife or a younger leggy brunette being playful.
maybe the one whose pics are recently all over the UK newspaper for nudity,sniffing cocaine, having another episode with her 3 mental illnesses (bipolar,manic depressant,schizophrenia)
come on people..like my grandfather used to say “unless it comes from the horses mouth” believe less of what you hear
I’m not quite sure it’s fair argument to air dirty laundry about someone in order to strengthen your point about not airing someone else’s dirty laundry.
I don’t know…
Even if he does subscribe to the scientologist equivalent of “BAM and the gay is gone”. I still don’t think its appropriate for carrie fisher to out him particularily when he has a wife and kids, simply because of the discomfort it would cause them.
If he is a major hypocrite i don’t care that’s between him and space god or what ever the scientologists call it. I don’t need to know he likes dudes to know that people offering to cure gay are full of shit.
I think it’s unfair for Carrie Fisher to get the blame for this. Tabloids and bloggers have been covering John Travolta’s gay life for years (as in that “John Travolta ready for takeoff” famous cover), and even more frequently and publicly for the past few months. It’s Enquirer material (http://www.towleroad.com/2010/09/i-would-call-it-neither-shocking-nor-new.html), Perez and Queerty material, but it’s also Gawker material, and Gawker, I think, has enough pageviews and cultural ubiquity to count as major news media. If Gawker produces a story on John Travolta’s bathhouse visits with over 400k pageviews (http://gawker.com/5685811/the-secret-sex-life-of-john-travolta?skyline=true&s=i), John Travolta has been publicly outed in the media already. It’s over.
Carrie Fisher doesn’t have a responsibility to lie for John Travolta to maintain his false heterosexual front. Nor do the media – at this point. I don’t really have a problem with young actors bearding, because gay actors as romantic leads are a hard sell, still, and showmances are encouraged by studios. But Travolta’s behaviour is so blatant that protecting him is just unseemly and unfeasible. John Travolta has hardly lived a closeted life, even if he does live a bearded one. It’s clear that he’s not making his bathhouse guys and masseuses and whatever sign confidentiality agreements; he is the least discreet gay guy in Hollywood. And he expects every Hollywood rag and blog to lie for him or get sued; write nice puff pieces about his family life and new baby, and sweep all that they know about the rest of his personal life under the rug. I think Travolta probably could have continued to enjoy the blind-item-and-hints protection from gossip blogs and tabloids if he hadn’t tried to counter the gay rumours by playing the family man publicity game again. I think he misjudged how far Scientology could protect him and how far today’s media is willing to put up with enabling a 50-something gay guy (with his best acting years behind him) present this facade of heterosexuality.
Outing. On the one hand I feel like, OK! You’re gay or bisexual! Your marriage is your business, but if you’re even thinking about giving money to an anti-gay organisation, get out of the goddamned pool – no sex for you from the gays until you at minimum stop donating to our oppression. (And I definitely do think everyone should vote with their genitalia!)
But on the other hand, I mean … there are a TONNE of anti-gay organisations out there, lots and LOTS of churches (plenty of which are doing destructive, immoral things). We can’t cut all those people off, we can’t out them all. So of course we have to draw a line, and I think I draw mine a little before John Travolta, which is not to say I don’t understand the urge to out him. But for me personally: someone is using their platform to propagate hateful bullshit? Out. Someone is using their public office to propagate hateful law and policy? Out. Someone is using their religious office to push the hate agenda? Out. Someone who is part of a religious or political organisation … no. Even someone who tithes or donates to that organisation … no. If I can’t justify it for the guy down the road, I can’t justify it for JT, myself.
The most disturbing thing about that Gawker post…learning Danny Zuko is a bottom.
I think it’s inappropriate to out him. We have no idea how he feels about his sexuality. If he’s really conflicted about it, which I could understand, it must be very painful to have it all up in the “news”.
Should he be conflicted about it? In a perfect world, no. No one should have to feel any kind of negative way about their sexuality. But in this flawed world, there are many reasons to want our sexuality to remain private business.
I grew up in a homophobic culture, and this has damaged me. I am not very “out”. I believe that homosexuality is natural, and that I can’t be “fixed” of it, nor should I want to be, but I still don’t want to be outted. I’m not ashamed, but I can’t bear being judged. Should I be outted because sometimes I still pray to the God of my childhood, and sometimes I go to church? I’m technically part of a religious group that is homophobic. I don’t think so. Anyways. Those are just my feelings. I have a lot of them today.
I feel like there is a diff btw being a member of a church and being its spokesman, though. I feel like when you are one of the most outspoken recruiters for said group it might put a bigger spotlight on you….IDK what do you think? I hate to make the comparison, but it’s kind of like you are a member of a church and Travolta is a bishop/cardinal or something? And is it really “outing” when there have been this many articles about it?
If you throw tons of money at shit that harms other gay people, you bet your ass you should.
In any event, I can empathize with your situation through loved ones that have lived it. Very difficult. Keep on keepin’ on.
JT isnt gay – Tom Cruise is!
do you know the difference between effect and affect?
I was just talking about this subject with my co-worker today, specifically Scientology, and the guy who started the religion was a science fiction writer which says a lot to me. Also, granted we read this bit on Wiki, he was quoted as saying he was going to start a religion that would make him a lot of money. That being said, if makes people happy to believe in this “stuff” then balls to the wall with it. The problem, as is with *most* religious ideologies is the propaganda and spread of hate towards someone or something.
However, I’m getting carried away and this is about Travolta. And he has the right, gay or not, to his privacy and the right to defend his fidelity to his wife. What’s unfortunate is the incredibly negative attitude he’s publicly taken in reference to the gay claims. And as Riese stated his vehement denial of his homosexuality and the way he seems to be reacting to such claims is what makes people skeptical.
Religion causes immeasurable pain and suffering. Vinnie Barbarino = pole smoker. Know it.
I cannot get over all the naive attitudes in the media and the general populace! The percentage of actors, male and female, that are either multisexual, homosexual or bisexual is staggering in reality! so is the general populace of the world! People get married and are in love, have kids and go to church!
However many have other sexual contacts in the long run! Yes there are heterosexual people that never deviate and are the ideal! It’s a human failing and we are all human I think! The aliens among us may think different,LOL!
God help us all!
Some people don’t want to be biologically mutated. You see from an evolutionary perspective homosxuality is deviant. And engaging in homosexual sex is unhygeinic as the anus evolved to eliminate waste and the tissue is extremely sensitive which is why when you are constipated and strain too hard you can bleed. “Anyhoo” it is really not a good idea to engage in anal sex because AIDS spread so rapidly becoming an epidemic precisely because of engaging in this atrocious unhygeinic act. We can all pretend that gays are normal but we all have a biological gagreflex and our gut never lies. So maybe that’s why straight people like John Travolta don’t wish to be thought of as repulsive. Have a nice day.