John Travolta’s Massage Lawsuit May Play Out In Open Court
A judge denied a petition from John Travolta’s camp to keep the testinomy in a lawsuit against him from being in open court. Unless Travolta settles, he’ll have to defend himself publicly against allegations of assualt and battery after a cruise ship masseur accused him of forcefully embracing him during a massage.
The case involves Fabian Zanzi, who accuses Travolta of disrobing while receiving a neck massage and then “forcefully embracing” him during a Royal Caribbean cruise in June 2009. He also charges that Travolta tried to buy his silence for $12,000. Travolta denies the allegations.
Travolta’s attorney Marty Singer told a judge that the fine print of Travolta’s cruise ticket mandates that legal disputes should be settled by arbitration. The clause is usually intnded to protect the cruise line, since that keeps the testimony in secret – but in this case would protect Travolta. The judge shot it down.
Zanzi seeks unspecified damages. The case will go to for trial unless Travolta opts to settle.