Next to Tom Cruise, John Travolta has arguably been Hollywood's most notable Scientologist
for decades. Since joining the church in 1975, Travolta has been vocal about the religion's
impact on his life, especially after his son Jett died in 2009. He told Us Weekly,
"It's the worst thing that's ever happened in my life. The church never left our sides
for two years. I don't know if I would have made it through without their support."
Such was Travolta's devotion to Scientology over the years that he even adapted church
founder L. Ron Hubbard's 1982 novel "Battlefield Earth" into a film in 2000, which was reportedly
a passion project of Travolta's for nearly two decades. Despite its widespread reputation
as being a pretty terrible movie, Travolta defended "Battlefield Earth" to the Daily
Beast in 2017, expressing zero regrets.
"Damn right, rat brain! That's the first intelligent thing you've said yet!"
According to the Daily Mail, speculation that the actor distanced himself from Scientology
began after wife Kelly Preston died from breast cancer in July 2020, and Travolta took to
Instagram to thank MD Anderson Cancer Center and other medical centers for helping Preston
with her treatment. The Church of Scientology is reportedly against its members seeking
certain kinds of medical treatment, such as chemotherapy.
In Touch also made the claim in February 2021 that Travolta's post took direct aim at the
church, declaring him, quote, "free after 45 years" … despite a spokesperson denying
that he severed ties. Now in August 2021, a particular real estate sale by Travolta
has kicked up such rumors again.
Location is everything when it comes to real estate, as they say. In that case, John Travolta
might very well be ending his days as a Scientologist for good — or so wondered the New York Post
after Travolta sold his mansion near the Church of Scientology's headquarters in Clearwater,
Florida for $4 million in early August. As the Post points out, the sale of the property,
which is only a mile from the Scientology headquarters in Clearwater, comes just over
a year after Kelly Preston's death at the home.
Whether he is ditching the religion or, perhaps, merely leaving some bad memories behind, Travolta
stands to make a profit from the sale, having purchased it for $3 million in 2017, according
to property records. His former home also boasts neighbors such as fellow famous Scientologists
Tom Cruise, who owns a downtown penthouse according to the Post, and Kirstie Alley,
who owns a "multi-residence waterfront compound."
Following Kelly Preston's death, former Scientology members have been outspoken in their belief
that John Travolta is breaking away from the church, according to the Daily Mail. Not only
was the "Grease" star open in his praise for the medical staff who tended to his wife,
but Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard was reportedly himself, quote, "really opposed
to chemotherapy and radiation," according to one of the Daily Mail's sources.
Ex-Scientologist Jeffrey Augustine told the Daily Mail that such a personal loss may have
shifted Travolta's outlook on the religion, especially given the church's apparent lack
of support for Preston after her cancer diagnosis. Augustine said,
"It'll hurt to lose your wife of 30 years ... there will be grief, it's human. There's
no acknowledgement in that statement of Scientology, David Miscavige, or auditing, there's nothing
— that's critical, he took care of it in his own hands, this is a personal matter,
like 'I don't need the Church.'"
As fans and friends speculate over Travolta's future with Scientology, the Church's other
über-famous member reportedly isn't pleased, according to Australian tabloid New Idea.
A source told the outlet,
"Tom [Cruise] and John [Travolta] have always tiptoed around each other, but they really
got into it when Tom recently was informed that John was pulling away from the church."
Though the sale of Travolta's $4 million mansion in Clearwater is fueling rampant reports of
a possible Scientology break, it's still unclear what this signifies.
According to the Ocala Star–Banner, the actor still owns a private residence in Ocala,
Florida, which is a two-hour drive from Clearwater. As the newspaper notes, it's a unique property
situated in Jumbolair, an exclusive gated community complete with an aircraft runway.
Jumbolair is capable of accommodating planes as large as a Boeing 737 — allowing Travolta,
a licensed pilot, to fly in and out of the home at his leisure.
Furthermore, Variety writes that Travolta owns an additional home in Calabasas, California,
which is just a 45-minute drive to Los Angeles, home of another Scientology enclave. Though
his Clearwater property was certainly the closest to a Scientology center, Travolta
still seemed to have multiple avenues of connection with the church. Whatever decisions he makes
about his faith are also difficult to know based on real estate alone.
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