John Travolta Is Making A Big Move Away From Scientology

Feelings Drama

Transcript

00:01Next to Tom Cruise, John Travolta has arguably been Hollywood's most notable Scientologist

00:06for decades. Since joining the church in 1975, Travolta has been vocal about the religion's

00:11impact on his life, especially after his son Jet died in 2009. He told us weekly,

00:17"'It's the worst thing that's ever happened in my life. The church never left our sides

00:21for two years. I don't know if I would have made it through without their support.'"

00:26Such was Travolta's devotion to Scientology over the years that he even adapted church

00:30founder L. Ron Hubbard's 1982 novel Battlefield Earth into a film in 2000, which was reportedly

00:37a passion project of Travolta's for nearly two decades. Despite its widespread reputation

00:42as being a pretty terrible movie, Travolta defended Battlefield Earth to The Daily Beast

00:47in 2017, expressing zero regrets.

00:50"'Damn right, rat brain. That's the first intelligent thing you've said yet.'"

00:56According to The Daily Mail, speculation that the actor distanced himself from Scientology

01:00began after wife Kelly Preston died from breast cancer in July 2020, and Travolta took to Instagram

01:07to thank MD, Anderson Cancer Center, and other medical centers for helping Preston with her

01:12treatment. The Church of Scientology is reportedly against its members seeking certain kinds of

01:17medical treatment, such as chemotherapy. In Touch also made the claim in February 2021 that

01:23Travolta's post took direct aim at the Church, declaring him, quote,

01:28"'free after 45 years,' despite a spokesperson denying that he severed ties."

01:33Now in August 2021, a particular real estate sale by Travolta has kicked up such rumors again.

01:40Location is everything when it comes to real estate, as they say. In that case, John Travolta

01:45might very well be ending his days as a Scientologist for good. Or so wondered the New York Post after

01:51Travolta sold his mansion near the Church of Scientology's headquarters in Clearwater,

01:55Florida, for $4 million in early August. As the Post points out, the sale of the property,

02:01which is only a mile from the Scientology headquarters in Clearwater, comes just over a year after Kelly

02:07Preston's death at the home. Whether he is ditching the religion or perhaps merely leaving some bad

02:12memories behind, Travolta stands to make a profit from the sale, having purchased it for $3 million

02:17in 2017, according to property records. His former home also boasts neighbors such as fellow famous

02:24Scientologists Tom Cruise, who owns a downtown penthouse, according to the Post, and Kirstie Alley,

02:30who owns a multi-residence waterfront compound. Following Kelly Preston's death, former Scientology

02:36members have been outspoken in their belief that John Travolta is breaking away from the Church,

02:40according to the Daily Mail. Not only was the Grease star open in his praise for the medical staff,

02:45who tended to his wife, but Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, was reportedly himself, quote,

02:51really opposed to chemotherapy and radiation, according to one of the Daily Mail's sources.

02:56Ex-Scientologist Jeffrey Augustine told the Daily Mail that such a personal loss may have shifted

03:02Travolta's outlook on the religion, especially given the Church's apparent lack of support for Preston

03:08after her cancer diagnosis. Augustine said,

03:11It'll hurt to lose your wife of 30 years. There will be grief. It's human. There's no acknowledgement

03:16in that statement of Scientology, David Miscavige, or auditing. There's nothing. That's critical.

03:22He took care of it in his own hands. This is a personal matter. Like, I don't need the Church.

03:27As fans and friends speculate over Travolta's future with Scientology, the Church's other uber-famous

03:33member reportedly isn't pleased, according to Australian tabloid New Idea. A source told the

03:38outlet,

03:39Tom Cruise and John Travolta have always tiptoed around each other, but they really got into it

03:44when Tom recently was informed that John was pulling away from the Church. Though the sale

03:48of Travolta's $4 million mansion in Clearwater is fueling rampant reports of a possible Scientology

03:54break, it's still unclear what this signifies. According to the Ocala star banner, the actor

03:59still owns a private residence in Ocala, Florida, which is a two-hour drive from Clearwater.

04:04As the newspaper notes, it's a unique property situated in Jambolair, an exclusive gated community

04:10complete with an aircraft runway. Jambolair is capable of accommodating planes as large

04:15as a Boeing 737, allowing Travolta, a licensed pilot, to fly in and out of the home at his

04:21leisure.

04:22Furthermore, Variety writes that Travolta owns an additional home in Calabasas, California,

04:27which is just a 45-minute drive to Los Angeles, home of another Scientology enclave. Though

04:32his Clearwater property was certainly the closest to a Scientology center, Travolta still

04:37seemed to have multiple avenues of connection with the church. Whatever decisions he makes

04:42about his faith are also difficult to know based on real estate alone.

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