MASSEUR-GATE: Day 9. With the news yesterday that John Doe #2 (the masseur in Georgia who claimed John Travolta assaulted him in a hotel suite) was not going to pursue a court case open to the public, and would instead go for a closed-door mediation session, many of us tried to read the tea leaves and determine if Doe #2’s case is really strong or really weak. Considering John Travolta’s lawyers have been relatively quiet about Doe #2’s claims, and considering the confidence of Doe #2’s lawyer, I keep thinking that there’s something there. Now Radar has a new statement from Doe #2’s lawyer, where the dude is basically trying to negotiate a settlement publicly. Which… does not bode well, I’m afraid. It makes it seem like Doe #2 just wants a quick payout, and it’s rather crass to acknowledge it in a public forum.
The lawyer representing the Atlanta based masseur that is suing John Travolta for sexual assault and battery, tells RadarOnline.com exclusively that his client would settle the matter quickly for $250k. The unidentified masseur, made the blockbuster claims against Travolta, several days after another anonymous man filed a similar lawsuit against the Grease star, both men are seeking $2 million dollars in damages.
Travolta’s powerhouse pit bull attorney, Marty Singer has denounced the claims of both masseurs. The second masseur is being repped by Okorie Okorocha, the same attorney who filed the initial sexual battery lawsuit against the Oscar nominated actor. According to the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday morning in Federal Court in Los Angeles, the second alleged victim claims that while working at an unspecified resort in Atlanta, Georgia on January 28, 2012, he did an in-room massage on Travolta.
“My client will settle for $250k to make this go away quickly and without having any further action being taken in this case,” Okorocha tells RadarOnline.com exclusively.
“My client wants his life back and for that to happen at this point we would be willing to accept a settlement. I have been speaking with Marty Singer about establishing the ground rules for arbitration/mediation in this case. We haven’t agreed on anything yet, or which private judge will hear the case. I want it to be one judge, Marty Singer would like more than one judge. These are sticking points that we can work out if this case doesn’t settle. I haven’t discussed any settlement figures with Marty yet but I anticipate we will be having those discussions very soon.
“Look my client is a very tall man, weighs about 300 pounds and is also a personal trainer so a private judge could absolutely look at him and wonder how much in damages he really suffered. If this could settle quickly, well, obviously, that would be the best result for all parties involved,” Okorocha says.
Marty Singer could not be reached for comment.
[From Radar]
Ugh. This sucks. Even though Masseur-gate was depressing and gross, I was kind of hoping that the story kept dragging on for months and months and more men came out of the woodwork with grosser and grosser claims. Now it seems like both John Doe #1 and #2 are basically con artists looking for a quick buck, and they both hired a hack of lawyer.
Meanwhile, remember accuser #3, Fabian Zanzi? He was the dude who claimed Travolta propositioned him on a Royal Caribbean cruise. Well, Zanzi is adding to his story and now Travolta’s lawyers are going after him, and this story is getting more convoluted. See if TMZ’s report makes any sense (they have video of the guy here as well):
John Travolta asked a room steward on a Royal Caribbean cruise line to give him a neck massage in his stateroom back in 2009 … this according to an official incident report obtained by TMZ, but the documents don’t mention anything about any overt sexual overture on Travolta’s part. The steward, Fabian Zanzi, claims he was delivering something to Travolta’s stateroom when the actor asked him for a neck massage. Although the report doesn’t expressly name Travolta, we’ve confirmed the actor was indeed the guest in question.
Fabian claimed he obliged — and Travolta “then told him he was a beautiful person and invited him to return to visit him later that night.” Fabian claimed he refused because of a strict company policy banning RC employees from fraternizing with guests. Fabian reported the incident and was disciplined for the neck massage, which is a violation of the no-fraternization rule. He subsequently left the company.
Fabian now says the encounter was much more than described in the incident report, claiming Travolta opened his robe and gave him a big hug while his penis was erect … and offered him $12,000 for sex and silence.
Travolta’s attorney Marty Singer tells TMZ, “The incident report now confirms Mr. Zanzi fabricated his story about my client. He never stated that my client did anything wrong. Obviously, if he had engaged in any inappropriate conduct he would have reported it to his supervisors.”
A rep for Royal Caribbean tells TMZ, “Fabian Zanzi worked for Royal Caribbean International from October 2003 until May 2011 on various ships. In June 2009, Mr. Zanzi was working as a Room Service Phone Operator onboard Enchantment of the Seas.”
The rep claims Fabian was NOT fired by the cruise company, but rather resigned on May 18, 2011 — two years after the alleged incident.
[From TMZ]
Eh, whatever – I don’t think the “incident report” in 2009 is conclusion proof that this guy is lying about the incident NOW, especially considering Zanzi was “disciplined” by his employer for the neck rub. Maybe he didn’t want to confess to the entire incident because he didn’t want to be “disciplined” for being propositioned by a client. I don’t know. Whatever. Zanzi’s story isn’t all that interesting to me.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
There is a climate where the victim gets blamed for any sexual crime. The power differences between someone like JT and a massage therapist working for a high end company are enormous. Added to that it is not just JT and his lawyer army they would fight, but also his wacked up church (which has been known to stalk and harass people they perceive as enemies). It might not be true, but a scientologist is probably the last person con artists would target in this way.
With the NY Times subtly blaming victims, it became clear to me that it is not just companies, but also very much supposedly neutral media.
http://feministing.com/2012/05/14/take-action-anti-trans-victim-blaming-in-the-new-york-times/
It also refers back to when they quoted people who say how hard it must be for the rapists (!) who gangraped an 11 year old girl (!)
I wish that climate would change. There was also an article on Jezebel last week about Missoula, Montana, and its “rape climate.” The Feds have actually launched an investigation into their lack of willingness to charge/prosecute rapists.
Thanks, I’ll check it out!
Someone should talk to the massage staff at the Grand Wailea spa in Wailea on Maui.
Ooooooh, deets please!
zzzzzzzzzzzz…..
i think travolta is gay but not a sexual predator/pervert. i think he might have flirted/hit on these guys but now these guys see an opportunity for a payout so they are adding to their story. if they were so traumatized, they would have gone to the police, not found a lawyer. scum with no morals see others possibly getting a payout and decide to join the club.
that’s what sucks about being famous. people can just make up shit, and it might not be true. but once somebody’s said it, somebody’s going to believe it. that’s why celebs settle out of court sometimes, just to squash the lies before it affects their career. not b/c the accusations are true, necessarily.
But if JT is wholly innocent, why settle? Why not take it to court and show the whole world that his accuser has no proof of anything?
If the Jordy Chandler/Michael Jackson case has taught us anything it’s that a quick pay-off generally equals guilt in the public’s eyes and leaves you open to further accusations.
A bunch of stars often settle to avoid the hassle of a court case- even when they’re innocent. Nobody wins in litigation.
@blah:
But how do we know they were innocent?
😉
Plus this is a very high-profile case, unlike the Herpes Guy who could settle out of court because he maintained his anonymity. Travolta as I type is being tried in the court of public opinion and the only way to clear his name is to win the case in the public domain.
By settling he’s in effect admitting guilt and will be “Closet Homosexual and Masseur-Molester John Travolta” for the rest of his life.
Oh well, opinions & a**eh*les…
JT will not acknowledge his bisexuality/ homosexuality. If the accuser were female, it would be a different story.
Edited to add: @Tapioca
Yes, and the Chandler case ( as well as the later ones) was so dodgy that it should have been fought in court – would have been better for the kid, also, who was being abused and manipulated by his father. And yet so many people assume MJ was a proven pedophile, which he just wasn’t. Eccentric as all get-out, but definitely no pedophilia was ever proven. My neighbor was misidentified as a rapist and ended up leaving town and a good job and home after acquittal. False accusations, even due to honest mistakes and even when unproven in a court of law, take a terrible toll on the individuals accused.
I don’t want to be superficial but I will be: he is fug. He used to be ok looking (think: 70s) but wtf happened. He’s a creepy eyesore.
Count me as a superficial person too, then.
Its called growing older. Who wasn’t better looking when they were younger? Sheesh. :/
I completely agree. It’s like his eyes are growing closer together. I find him most revolting when he’s wearing his fake pilot’s uniform. He’s flying his private plane with him as passenger but he needs to wear a uniform. It reminds me of how the CO$ has fake military titles and uniforms and Tom and Miscavige salute each other.
It’s definitely the eyes and the CO$ elevates that “creep” factor.
The first thing that came to my mind is that the pitbull attorney for JT did some digging on the masseuse that would make him a less than sympathetic victim. That or the “church” paid him a visit. Travolta could come out of this totally exonerated and I’d still find him guilty. He’s gross.
I agree. And I’ve never had much of an opinion about his wife before but now I think she’s a creepy whack job, too.
I want $150,000 but we can settle out of court right now for 20 bucks.. that’s what this reminds me of, if JD2 is telling the truth-I wouldn’t settle for that, and I’d get a new lawyer..
even if they don’t have sexual harassment cases, at the very least, this man has a history of behaving very sexually inappropriately.
the cult of celebrity is so powerful, people will forgive him, stay in denial, or just make him the victim. so gross.
I don’t know what other stories you mean. I don’t remember the spa stories saying he groped anyone against their will and they were consensual flings. I don’t read blind items and don’t care to so in my mind those don’t count.
Wanting a quick payout doesn’t mean you don’t have a good claim. Just means you don’t want to be dragged in the mud for years.
And you just know the CO$ would mercilessly hound this man until he broke down or they’d killed him.
How much grosser does it get than fat, hairy, naked, sleazy JT writhing around on a table with his exposed anus in the air begging for attention? Ugh, reminds me of some bad times in high school.
Damn, glad I didn’t attend your high school.
Haha! Too funny, Skipper!
i want travolta to go all bad ass like in face off on these accusers and shut their lying traps for good. the man is a dance God. he’s got the moves.
you know who else was a dance god?? Michael JAckson. SMH in disgust.
these people have exceptional talent and exceptional eccentricities. think it’s easy to succeed in show business over time?
Yeah, he’s got moves alright. Like molesting massage therapists (or whatever you want to call them).
So he can dance. Lot’s of people can dance. That doesn’t mean they go around the country (in their own Learjets) propositioning hotel workers.
i will take excpetional talent and exceptional eccentricity without the molestation thank you very much and shame on you that you would condone such behaviour.
In your world it’s ok to be molested or have your children molested just because the molester is exceptionally talented or exceptionally eccentric….SMH in disgust
He wants his life back? Seriously? LOL No one knows who it is. He hasn’t been deposed. He hasn’t been anything. His lawyer has filed. Nothing more. So much for wanting justice. He just wanted a really fast payout and didn’t expect them to ever fight him.
I think of this guy and compare him to all the female rape victims who go to court for justice and go through so much to get justice.
He’s entitled to compensation. How he chooses to pursue this is up to him. Doesn’t make him any less of a victim.
You mean if he is telling the truth. Just because someone is accused of something, doesn’t mean they did it. JT is being presumed guilty based on gossip.
Whatever..this guy is obviously a predator and it won’t be the last time someone comes forward.
That’s why they want this settled quickly. Because he IS guilty and has probably done this to many, many people. The lawyers are afraid if it drags out for too long, how many others will gather the courage to come forward and accuse him?
Innocent men don’t settle for being slandered.
A few blind gossips are being marked solved as JT/KP …people should check them out and notice the dates of the blinds…just sayin’.
I am just going to come out and post the link to the Blind which ties in neatly with these payouts.
http://blindgossip.com/?p=43366
JT is basically stuck between a rock and co$
ilove travolta. he is the most versatile actor around. these men are creeps looking for a quick buck. if you are a low life giving messages, i’m sure you get hit on. get a grip.
Get a GRIP? LMAO!
I’m pretty sure a grip was exactly what Travolta was looking for.
Massage therapists are NOT low lives. That is so insulting and I am not an LMT. They are healthcare professionals, like a chiro, PT, etc.
BTW, I don’t know any low life MESSAGE givers. Ha! Is that a job? Seems easy, message giver. Now a mAssage is harder to give and involves a lot more work.
Please don’t give LMT’s a bad name, they go to a lot of school and have literally fixed my 20 year back injury. If Cirque did not have two FT on staff the artists would never be healthy enough to perform. We also have physio, again professionals.
Yeah, um, I don’t know where you live (Vegas?) but here in Cali there a strict guidelines for Massage Therapists. They have to go to school for it, but the state also requires STD testing prior to granting a license and every 6 months thereafter. (At least they did 15 years ago. I doubt it’s changed much.)
Or did you mean “bike messengers?” Because some of those companies DO hire sketchy people who get paid in cash & try to stay off the radar.
I was saying from the start something sounded funky with this whole business, and took a lot of criticism here over it. Particularly from one person who seemed to me to have a “sexual-harassment-axe” to grind. This latest development only further supports my position that these jokers sound like a bunch of quick buck scam artists publicly shaking down a celebrity. Albeit, a celebrity that clearly seems to have some problems of his own going on.
This Okorocha lawyer is sounding like a real piece of work — he continues publicly undercutting his own clients, something that could get you disbarred! Now he’s basically telling you why his client could have easily defended himself against Travolta, based on his client’s very large size, and therefore publicly offering doubt about his own client’s claims. He’s essentially saying it’s not a great case, and that his client could have easily stopped whatever Travolta was allegedly doing. Just yesterday he’s claiming to have fired a client who misstated the facts (when an alleged incident occurred), which in and of itself leaves an accuser with little credibility. Further making this lawyer sound dicey is that a lawyer generally can’t “fire” his own client — the client or a judge has to release you from the case, making those claims by Okorocha sound even fishier at best. For a lawyer, once you are on a case, you are on that case till the end of time, and owe the client all the benefits and privileges of that arrangement.
The fact that Okorocha is now publicly saying his client will take a quick 250K (this in the midst of what they’ve said was to be a private mediation!)is also kind of bogus. First, when a lawyer says his client will take 250k for allegations against a public figure like Travolta, know full well that he’s really saying the guy will take 100k to disappear – he’ll never see anything close to the 250. Second, a negotiation starting figure of 250k nowadays (against a public figure no less) is basically saying there’s not much of a case going on here to begin with — like I tried to say yesterday, where are the damages here, I’m hearing no statement regarding what the cost of Travolta’s alleged behavior was to these accusers? How did it hurt them, what did they lose due to Travolta’s alleged behavior? Ultimately, that’s the core of a civil lawsuit. Yesterday someone here, apparently responding to me said that you could have “punitive” damages, but the problem with that is you generally can’t get punitive damages until you’ve first established compensatory damages. Meaning you must first prove how you were specifically hurt, before you can tag on an additional sum to further punish someone for their alleged behavior.
Anyway, this whole business is sounding more and more like a public shakedown of a guy who’s had a lot of rumors running around about him for awhile, and because of that he becomes an easy target. Don’t be shocked if a few months down the pike you hear of Okorocha being brought before a Disciplinary Committee of his local bar for his conduct in this matter. As someone well versed in the law, I can tell you that Okorocha’s conduct here is at best bizarre, and at worst could leave him removed from the bar.
Finally! Someone making sense. Its so easy to jump on the JT is a gay rapist band wagon. Takes a bit more intelligence to look further than their own noses.
I have yet to see one actual shred of evidence.
I’ve had a million massages and there aren’t really cameras, so how are we going to get the “truth”?
He is going to settle because JT has $$$ and so does CO$ and we know what their motto is, sue, sue, sue until you have crushed the people trying to sue.
Oh also, I went through a SH suit a couple years ago. You against a big company? Very difficult to win or even mediate. I was the only woman working in a tri-state area with all men and I was harassed daily. I got nothing from my suit other than having my professional rep damaged. No bearing on how I feel about this, but SH sucks and it sucks to be deposed and have to tell everything they tried to do to you. Winning against CO$, good luck.
@OriginalTiffany–
So sorry to hear of your experience with a sexual harassment claim. Sadly, your experience is very often how these matters go — the party making the claim winds up more damaged than they were to begin with, and sorry they ever involved themselves in the legal process. There may be laws against this sort of behavior, but all too often those laws are woefully ineffective. Making matters worse is that in tough economic times, discrimination issues in general have really taken a back seat as far as the legal process goes. Very little funding, and very little help! If you go to a State agency with an S-H claim or some other discrimination complaint, you generally find the state workers spending more time attempting to get rid of you than actually pursuing an investigation of your claim. They don’t have the funds to pursue these matters anyway. One notorious state agency, the NYS Division of Human Rights, is famous for allowing cases to sit for up to TEN YEARS before they get to a hearing– what possible good could that do for someone that’s been discriminated against? If anything it hurts more than helps. It’s shameful!
So, I’m really sorry to hear of your personal experience. Sadly, it’s not uncommon. All too often people are better off just moving on from a bad situation, then making the mistake of thinking the law will protect them and that there’s something they can do to change a bad situation. Without alot of money, nerves of steel, and a very thick skin, you’ll wish you never started trying to fight something in the first place. Sad, but true!
Hi Renata
You make some good points, so I hope you don’t threaten to take your ball and go home when someone disagrees with you, as you did in the last thread.
That said, your argument that because the accuser was larger than Travolta there could be no assault doesn’t hold water. Travolta could have caught the man unaware, or simply have been physically persistent.
I also find it odd that you suggest an attorney cannot cease to represent a client. Attorneys – civil or criminal – drop clients regularly, particularly those who are difficult or unable to pay legal fees. This is why public defenders exist in criminal cases.
@CandyKay — I didn’t ‘threaten to take my ball and go home when someone disagrees’. I just didn’t care for the constant distortion of my comments. You can quote me all you like, but if you then twist around what I’ve said, it’s not acceptable to me on this type of thread — this isn’t really the place for those type of arguments, and I don’t want to burden the moderators here with inappropriate and lengthy conversations on a thread that’s supposed to more or less be fun. That’s particularly so when it appeared I was dealing with someone that wants “vengeance” against anyone who happens to be accused of sexual harassment. In my view, S-H claims are much like anything else in this world we live in; some are valid, some are nonsense, some are made with no other purpose than to humiliate others and seek financial gain. I recall a few years back reading an excellent NY Times article regarding the high incidence of phony s-h claims made by people- such a claim can turn into little more than a weapon since invariably it’s an accusation that is difficult to disprove where the classic defense becomes one of, ‘it was a he-said, she-said’ situation. Once accused, you remain “branded” whether you did something or not.
That said, I understand what you’re saying about his accuser and it is of course possible that Travolta could have caught the man by surprise. BUT, it’s really doubtful that a tall, 300 pound man could have been overwhelmed that easily by a flabby middle-aged celebrity who is pictured in a recent post on this site with a french fry dangling from his mouth 🙂 Even the man’s attorney recognized and acknowledged that it wouldn’t be a very convincing scenario to a judge. So while I respect your opinion, I disagree. So, whatever happened between the 2 men (if anything at all actually happened), Travolta’s over-sized accuser was probably quite capable of leaving the room and ridding himself of the situation.
Finally, as for attorneys dropping clients, I suppose to some degree it depends on the rules and laws of your jurisdiction. Where I live, it’s plain and simple–an attorney cannot just “fire” a client. That’s true even if the client isn’t paying his bills. Once you’re the attorney of record, you need to apply to the Court, seeking permission to end your association with a case and client. If a client isn’t paying his bills, the Judge will generally allow you to break from a case, but you do need his o.k.– you can’t just do it on your own. Further, this issue has zero to do with public defenders, on that theory you are confused as to how this works. One really has nothing to do with the other, at least not in these circumstances.
I don’t quite know what to think about this case anymore. But I thought it was relevant to point out that just because someone could physically overcome their assaulter doesn’t mean they were a willing participant. There are plenty of cases where someone with greater social or financial power can take advantage of a physically larger ‘inferior’. And I think being harassed by someone with the money and power to have you fired, like Travolta, could easily fall in to that category. I don’t think Okorocha should have mentioned it at all, but it is possible that a judge could have their own bias in that regard. There are still a lot of widely believed myths about assault and harassment, and oftentimes it’s even harder for a male victim to be believed since people forget that physical power is not always the biggest factor.
With so much smoke blowing in the air…theres a fire somewhere I gareantee….
Now if a ordinary man next door were in his place and several man come up and said that about him …Hell , he would have to go into hiding because the papers and media would have him tried and convicted without on shred of evidence coming out…if nothing else his life would be chanced forever just by the actuzation…but not with Stars..they are untouchable…its always the victims who is attacked by the media, turned into “only out to get money” or frauds or whatever the high dollar lawyers and publicity people for the stars can come up with..look at Lindsay Lohan for example…Even with photo and video evidence proving otherwise “she is never quilty of anything…..and everybody is out to get her money..or her etc etc…..
Same here.
And quite frankly he has always struck me as being a arrogant son of a bit*h and one of those men who thinks they are tin gods….So I can really see him doing exactly what is is being accused of….
I am not saying these accusers are lily white either…but I am saying that they are playing going on with both sides of the case but peel away all the layers of this whole cabbage and you will find the core…and that core is probably rotten .
So what “shred of evidence” is there with JT?
Please enlighten me.
I agree it sounds like they have dug up some stuff on him from his past and are threatening to go public–while not trying to pay.
If I were him, I’d stick it out AND get a settlement and go away.
They are trying to shame and intimidate the victims.
JT will continue his behaviors.
Eh. In these sorts of cases, shaming cuts both ways. Both sides may have skeletons in the closet and therefore an incentive to settle out of court. Or the defendent is innocent, but doesn’t want his skeletons dragged out and so settles.
Once celeb civil cases go public, the sharks come out of woodwork and the defendents are frequently able to access attorneys as good or even better than the ones the plaintiff has. And a good defense attorney will threaten to tear apart the plaintiff’s private life upside down to gain leverage– it’s not just the defendent’s life that will be microscrutinized.
I agree completely …..
They are going to White wash John as much as they can while blacking the accusers with everything they can…..and sence I seem to be quoting old saying this morning………let me say John is the shunk caught outside the hen house …he swears he’s never been inside and has witnesses to say he wasn’t…but the only problem is the henhouse reeks of shunk scent and he’s the only one around……
In 1904, sensational cocaine prohibition stories were selling well. The newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst published a false story that Oakley had been arrested for stealing to support a cocaine habit. The woman actually arrested was a burlesque performer who told Chicago police that her name was “Annie Oakley”. The original Annie Oakley spent much of the next six years winning 54 of 55 libel lawsuits against newspapers. She collected less in judgments than were her legal expenses, but to her, a restored reputation justified the loss of time and money.
Okay, again . . . ALL federal civil cases are court-ordered by the federal Rules of Civil Procedure and specific orders by the presiding judge to first try to mediate. The parties have no choice. They MUST mediate. That does not mean that either side wants to settle. It just means they are going through the motions that are ordered by the court. Get it?
The parties can use the court’s mediation panel or opt to use a private mediation device. Looks like they are using the private mediation. And, yes, that requires the lawyers to talk and discuss how to mediate. Still does not mean Travolta wants to settle or give this guy any money at all.
The plaintiff’s lawyer in this case is mostly a traffic attorney and seems to be in way over his head. I can see why it would be tempting to try and get into the big time practicing so close to LA and seeing other lawyers raking it in with moneyed and famous clients. But you really have to be able to step up and practice at the level of some very high powered firms. People like Marty Singer are high powered because they are great at what they do and they have worked to build a law firm that knows its stuff and gets results.
Looks to me like Okorocha wants a quick payout for himself. A third of $250K is a cool $83K for him – then he gets expenses from what’s left and then the client gets his share. I think this atty would be very happy if he walks away with expenses and even way less money.
And other posters are correct. Okorocha seems to be undermining his clients and it’s hardly appropriate for him to be selling his client out in public.
Google him and you can see a review of his work by a client who was very unhappy with his services. I have no idea what the truth of that matter is but it has a ring of truth to it.
Even if there is a “settlement” in the future in this case that still does not mean that Travolta gave this guy any money. The “settlement” could just be that in exchange for dropping the case now that Travolta will not counter sue the accuser or that Travolta will not seek attorneys fees from the accuser – which could be very high even at this early stage of the case. So don’t be fooled by the plaintiff’s attorney if he claims there was a settlement, he and his client are very happy about it but because it’s confidential they can’t discuss the details. It still does not mean this accuser got one penny.
Okorie Okorocha specializes in DUI cases, which is not quite the same as being a ‘traffic attorney’, with its whiff of disputed parking tickets.
I Googled him as you suggested, looking for a client who was unhappy with his services, and did not find one. I did find this site that says that he has a “five out of five star” rating based on 97 reviews, all of which seem to predate his involvement with the Travolta accuser (ie not manufactured for PR purposes.)
http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/90036-ca-okorie-okorocha-59454/reviews.html
If you click around the site, you’ll see he was also endorsed by 163 fellow lawyers, who say things like “Okorie stands in class of his own. I do not know an attorney who is more committed to his clients. His track record speaks for itself. I endorse Mr. Okorocha.”
Nothing wrong with a quick payout for plaintiff and lawyer. I can’t imagine there is much to be gained by dragging this out by anyone concerned?
Of course he is a traffic lawyer. What do you think traffic lawyers handle? They handle DUIs. They rarely handle parking tickets.
And one should be very wary of lawyers who get people to post words of praise for themselves at attorney review sites. I don’t know many respected criminal or civil attorneys handling complicated and serious cases who do this. I will say this for Mr. Okorocha, he knows how to sell himself. And he’s cute.
Why pay someone to be quiet if you’re innocent? Wouldnt’ you just want to fight it to the end to prove your innocence? The issue isn’t that he’s gay but that he’s been philandering for years while he has a wife and two children at home. Surely she must know,and if she doesn’t, she’s got her head in the sand.
Why pay? Because the expense of pursuing justice can be so insanely high that it becomes cheaper to pay up and be rid of the whole thing. Unfortunately, that’s why many people file lawsuits in the first place–quick settlements based on the high cost of litigation. I don’t know precisely what Singer’s fees are, but a high profile L.A. attorney like that could be getting a few grand an hour! A first few weeks of work by that guy, and you’ve already run up a tab greater than what you could have settled for. And good luck trying to collect a judgment of attorney’s fees against a guy that on and off is a cruise ship masseuse 🙂
@Renata – i am all for the underdog, which ever side of the fence or whatever their financial means. However, like the Michael Jackson case[s], and unlike countless private settlements, JT is being pilloried in the court of public opinion. He needs to settle this in the court of public opinion. Irrespective of who or if it is right, The bigger picture is his career which can not go on when he has been publicly branded an aggressive sexual pervert. A private settlement will only be interpreted publicly as an admission of guilt on his part.
As much as everyone is entitled to their privacy, no matter how famous, his accusers have made this as public as possible for their strategy which has a direct impact on his career in the long term.
Michael Jackson settled with Jordy Chandler, but it lay the ground work for the other, later accusations, and his career never really recovered. JT is in exactly the same position.
@Lak —
You make a valid point, and it is a genuine problem for those that have celebrity status. Unfortunately, there’s little Travolta can do about that… the cat’s out of the bag on these allegations, and since they involve the sort of rumors that have followed him around for awhile, I don’t think there’s much he can do to turn that around. As they say, ‘you can’t unring the bell’.
The only thing that Travolta can do going forward is to keep himself from any situation or circumstances that could allow for allegations of misconduct. That means no private massages, no doing much of anything where you aren’t in a position to prove what you were or weren’t doing at any given time. The man will have to learn to control himself.
I think he should fight it in court if he is not guilty. I give this accuser free money if it’s not true.
People say gossip never hurts nobody.
Wrong.
This “masseuse-gate” is a prime example of what happens when you repeat gossip enough: People believe it as true. There’s no proof that JT is a perv, let alone gay, yet people are willing to believe the worst of him because of gossip.
Now chicken’s come to roost and gold diggers who’ve read the National Enquirer and the Blind Gossip one too many times are coming out of the woodwork for payday.
Just curious – what would be ‘proof’ in your estimation, given the he said-he said situation here?
Two people are alone in a room, one claims a sexual assault happened, one says it did not.
Assuming there is no secret video recording or Clinton-style stained blue garment, what would constitute proof?
Eh.
My post wasn’t about the current suits, but about the toxic climate of “guilty until proven innocent” that has been created by years of malicious, unverifiable gossip.
Why are people so quick to believe JT is guilty and is a sexual predator, while refusing to believe that the plaintiffs are gold diggers?
Gossip, years of malicious rumormongering, that’s what.
As for the cases on hand, a trial should suffice. Even if JT were to win in a trial, the depositions and discoveries should tell us whether or not he’s gay as rumored and whether or not he’s predatory at spas as rumored. And of course, whether the two plaintiffs are truly the victims or just another gold diggers blinded by the almighty dollar sign.
Exactly. So if it cannot be conclusively proven then why is JT willing to pay ANYTHING? Unless he is afraid the continued publicity will bring more of the people he has assaulted out of the woodwork?
If I was innocent in this matter I would take it all the way to court and forget how much the lawyer costs. I imagine he has an attorney on retainer so he pays already. No matter how long the thing dragged on he has already paid his fees. So it is not a matter of being cheaper if he just pays and makes it go away.
I think he’s willing to pay because he is guilty of this and who knows how much worse? And his actions are going to convince a lot of people of the same thing.
Because he may have skeletons in the closet that he wants to leave there? Skeletons that may be perfectly legal but hurt him nonetheless?
For example, he may be gay and wants to hide it. In any trial that goes forward, his sexual history will be an open book and given his “religion,” he may be desperate to hide that fact.
There may be million reasons why he would want this to go away and none of them illegal.
@CandyKay–
There are many things that could constitute “proof” under those circumstances. However, most of them involve having made a call to the Police immediately following an assault, so that the authorities can collect evidence. Medical samples can be taken, clothing can be collected for examination and testing, photos of an injured party can be collected, swabs for DNA, etc.
If you don’t call the Police as soon as possible, and instead wait a year to contact a lawyer because you think there might be a payday for you, than you probably won’t be in as good a position to prove your case.
Since I know someone is about to say, ‘They were on a cruise ship, there were no police around’, I would point out that generally even on a cruise ship there is staff dedicated to investigating allegations of criminal activity, and certain protocols for the manner in which the ships’s captain is to report that alleged criminal activity. I’m not exactly familiar with that area of law, but I’m vaguely thinking it involves a quick contact with the U.S. Coast Guard or similar agency depending on the geographic locale of where the problem occurs.
This is exactly the reason why I’m not a fan of blind items to begin with . A lot of people believe them without a grain of salt, so to speak. Take Jake Gyllenhaal and the Toothy Tile thing for example, he’s gay because he’s Toothy Tile and people read it on the Internet.
Waiting to see if Travolta countersues for libel. If not it will mean there is some truth in these allegations.
No, it will not mean there is truth to it. You can never assume something is true based on the accused’s failure to sue over it. The smart thing is to leave it alone and it will die.
The CO$ is paying off these guys, not JT. They want to make it go away. So, if these are the only three guys we’ve heard of, how many do you think we HAVEN’T heard of? Betcherass there are more.
As for the atty, I would have hired someone nice and prickish, a true go-getter who knew his shit.
I read something interesting last night on CDAN (in comments) suggesting the church is possibly behind all this… Rumor is JT, along with good pal Kirstie Alley, are looking to jump ship so CO$ is digging up these guys and getting them to talk as a means of intimidation. In other words, this is just a taste of what could come John. Possibly very farfetched… or is it?
Not farfetched at all. Sounds exactly like what that cult would do. Give him a taste of what they are protecting him from.
I hope he tells them to go to hell and grabs his freedom. Nothing that came out would turn most thinking people against him. It’s the lying and coverups that most resent. No one should have to hide who they are. If John is misbehaving toward people then he needs to come out and live like a free man and maybe these impulses would go away.
Many people try to profit from an encounter with a celebrity.
I dunno, it seems too tangled to tell what’s really happening. The 1st accuser sounded deranged in the statement and would be expected to have the right date (they do keep schedule books and payment dates, right?). So the unlikely date was very odd. This statement about #2 is weird also. What “life back”? It allegedly happened long ago, nobody knows who the guy is (so no media frenzy to deal with), why be in a rush? If Travolta’s lawyers continue to push for a private judge, that might mean there is no case against him and he really isn’t a predator, just horny and flirty in a way I assume massage therapists are trained to handle gracefully (it must happen often enough). If it went beyond that, it’s likely the accusers talked with somebody about it at the time (being an unusual event) and so such people can be called as witnesses. Anita Hill had done so with the Clarence Thomas incidents. Lack of such confidants doesn’t mean nothing happened, though – I didn’t report such things myself because there just wasn’t anybody to tell who wouldn’t assume I was “oversensitive” and “imagining it”, although I found out later in a conversation with female secretaries (I was a rare female in grad school due to my field) that we’d all been dealing with the same crap from one perpetrator in particular. That became clear when one of them fantasized out loud what should be done to the creep when he walked by (let’s just say that it involved the one thing that truly terrifies the guys) and we all laughed in instant understanding and evil agreement…
In this case, it makes much more sense to work things out in front of a reputable third party trusted by all sides, getting all the evidence and testimony together. At this rate, there will soon be enough for a class action suit, which will simplify things. 🙂
If I didn’t do it I wouldn’t pay a damm thing, clearly there is guilt here
Nice liver lips he’s got there.