Radar Online
A former executive of the Church of Scientology addressed the longtime speculation surrounding John Travolta‘s sexuality, revealing he once saw the actor kiss another man on the mouth, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Mike Rinder, who was a high-level bigwig in the church before leaving in 2007, said he was in charge of damage control regarding the whispers surrounding Travolta's sexual preference.
Rinder claimed he witnessed the Pulp Fiction actor, now 68, nonchalantly kiss a male masseur while discussing “some public relations issues” in Travolta's hotel room.
During their meeting, the ex-Scientologist alleged Travolta's male masseur walked into the room wearing only a bathrobe and planted a kiss on the star's lips.
“‘I'll be in soon,' John said as the masseur headed toward the bedroom,” Rinder wrote in his bombshell book, A Billion Years: My Escape from a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology.
Expressing his surprise over the alleged kiss, he said, “That was pretty shocking, right in front of a senior Scientology official. It was just not done. I guess it was indicative of the trust he placed on me.”
Rinder — who co-hosted Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath — added this wasn't the first time Travolta has been linked to alleged male lovers.
“Since the beginning of the '90s, Travolta had been hounded by stories from various alleged male lovers, including one of his former pilots as well as a porn star,” Rinder wrote in his explosive book.
When it came time to fight the rumors, the ex-Scientologist said he and the church did what they do best.
“Realizing the potential PR damage a story of gay sex would have on the perfect Scientology couple of John and Kelly [Preston, Travolta's then-wife, we dug up dirt on the sources and threatened the media with lawsuits,” Rinder claimed.
The church has claimed it's not anti-gay, “yet the threat of a story describing a Scientologist as gay would cause panic internally because for a Scientologist, not being ‘cured' of homosexuality would indicate, that the tech doesn't work,” he added.
“Much has been made of John's sexuality and whatever the realities of his sexual orientation may be, I firmly believe he would be more open about it, were not for the stigma he feels due to his strong belief in Scientology,” Rinder added.
RadarOnline.com has reached out to Travolta's rep for comment.
As for the Church of Scientology, a spokesperson hit back at the long list of allegations made in Rinder's book.
“Mike Rinder is an inveterate liar who seeks to profit from his dishonesty … He supports himself by orchestrating the harassment of his former Church and its leader through false police reports, incendiary propaganda and fraudulent media stories,” the representative stated.
Travolta married Kelly Preston in 1991. Their marriage weathered the storm, including the death of their son Jett in 2009. Preston died after a battle with breast cancer in July 2020.
She gave Scientology credit for helping her through Jett's death.
