For decades, John Travolta has served as an A-list poster boy of the Church of Scientology. The organisation has guided the actor through his worst moments, including the deaths of his wife Kelly Preston, and teenage son Jett. In return, he has remained a relatively scandal-free high-profile follower.
However, questions have been raised about how church leaders may be feeling about the recent company John’s been keeping – leading to speculation that John and his beloved religion’s connections may have cooled.
Last weekend, John, 71, was seen partying with notorious Hollywood playboy Randall Emmett at a nightclub in Miami.
“John and Randall seemed to be very close friends and got on like a house on fire,” an onlooker tells New Idea.
Randall, who directed John’s 2024 movie Cash Out, has been dogged by scandal throughout his career in the film industry.
These include claims he cheated on his then-fiancée, Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent, and allegations about the demands placed on Bruce Willis, then in the early stages of dementia, on the set of their 2021 film Midnight in the Switchgrass. An exposé by the Los Angeles Times also reported “several allegations of sexual misconduct” against Randall in the workplace.
The 2023 documentary The Randall Scandal: Love, Loathing, and Vanderpump detailed many of these bombshell claims. Randall, 54, has strenuously denied them all.
But it is perhaps a lawsuit from Randall’s former staffer that would set off alarm bells at Scientology headquarters. As part of a civil proceeding in 2022, his former personal assistant Martin G’Blae alleged Randall would have him pay prostitutes and drug dealers on his behalf. The case was dismissed by agreement and Randall strenuously maintained the allegations against him were false.
One of Scientology’s core tenets is a vehement stance against drug use, and indeed it claims to have cured many of its celebrity followers, including late actress Kirstie Alley, of their addictions via their ‘purification rundown’ – a medically unproven rehab programme.
“While John would never use drugs, and none of the allegations against Randall were held up in court, it is strange that he would hang out with someone [like Randall] who found himself embroiled in a widely publicised drug allegation,” a source tells New Idea.
“At first it seemed John and Randall were just working together, which is probably acceptable in the church’s eyes. But to have them go on a night out together is an altogether different matter. It’s hard to see John ever distancing himself from Scientology, but his recent actions have started tongues wagging about whether that may have actually happened.”
John was raised Catholic but became a Scientologist at 21. On the church’s website, he is quoted as saying the religion “put me into the big time”. However, reports have suggested he may have grown “disillusioned” with the church following the cancer deaths of his wife Kelly in 2020 and close friend Kirstie in 2022.
He did not attend a 2023 gala hosted by fellow follower Tom Cruise.
“John opted not to come, leaving attendees puzzled,” reported the National Enquirer at the time.
