Current lifetime: Born February 18, 1954 in New Jersey
Most famous for: Being your creepy uncle on the Oscars broadcast
Joined Scientology: In 1975, after reading Dianetics while filming his first movie, The Devil’s Rain
Fun Scientology completion: Life Repair, 1975
“When he got the Tarantino movie, I think someone had been working with John on an admin scale to help him work his career out,” our Celebrity Centre source says, referring to an L. Ron Hubbard concept about how to organize work. “So he’s been convinced that his successes have come from L. Ron Hubbard, and he keeps himself in a bubble. He’s convinced that every time his career has had some big success, it’s because he was using some kind of Scientology. And that’s a really hard mindset to get out of.”
We told our source that we felt the same way about Travolta, and that for a long time we’ve discounted the “blackmail” theory that so many people seem to ascribe to. They believe that if John left, Scientology would spill secrets about his sex life and his reputed preference for men. But after the lawsuits from massage therapists in recent years, what more is there to know? We think the blackmail angle is overblown, and our source agreed. “The blackmail thing? No. That’s not what keeps him in. Nobody cares. If he was open about his sex life, no one, even in Hollywood, would care. The blackmail thing is not a real issue. Blackmail would only make him resentful, and he’s not resentful. He’s just convinced that every success he’s had comes from Scientology, and it’s the positive things he believes he’s gotten from it that keep him from believing any criticism of it.”
LINKS:
Feb 10, 2017: Can a celebrity Scientologist like John Travolta really commit murder under the rules?
Feb 15, 2014: Did John Travolta reveal too much about Scientology?
Mar 27, 2015: ‘Going Clear’: Spanky Taylor on John Travolta, Priscilla Presley, and escaping Scientology
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Our book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. Our collaboration with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’, is also available at Amazon in paperback and Kindle versions.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2017 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2017), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…
BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts
Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
