John Travolta -- Unzipped
After having dinner with a male friend at Katsuya in Brentwood on Tuesday, John Travolta started to let it all hang out.
The 56-year-old is really fly.
Filed under: Paparazzi Photo, John Travolta
John vs. Jonathan: Who'd You Rather?
"From Paris with Love" stars John Travolta, 55, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, 32, got chummy at an event in NYC this week.
Question is ...
Filed under: Who'd You Rather?, John Travolta
Alleged Travolta Extortionist Maintains Innocence
Accused John Travolta extortionist Pleasant Bridgewater continues to proclaim her innocence -- and now she's doing it through the words of Martin Luther King.
In a rare statement, Bridgewater tells TMZ, "I do maintain my 100% total and complete innocence and will defend myself. As one great writer said, 'No lie will live forever' and 'truth crushed to the Earth will rise again.'"
Bridgewater and Tarino Lightbourne are both accused of demanding millions of dollars from John Travolta, in return for keeping a document related to Jett's death secret. The first trial was famously declared a mistrial -- they are due to be retried on September 6.
Filed under: John Travolta, Exclusives
Alleged Travolta Extortionist Begs for Money
Tarino Lightbourne -- the ambulance driver who transported John Travolta's dying son to the hospital and has been charged with extortion -- says he's broke and needs help.
Outside of court yesterday in the Bahamas, Tarino said he hasn't worked since the extortion case started nearly a year ago -- and now his house is in foreclosure and he's desperate for some scratch to pay for his attorney's fees.
Tarino asks the general public to donate to his cause and even gives out two of his phone numbers ... but we bleeped them out. Sorry, Tarino ... no solicitors allowed here at TMZ.
As we first reported, the Travolta retrial -- which is definitely putting a dent in Tarino's pocketbook -- is scheduled to start September 6.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, John Travolta
Date Set in John Travolta Extortion Retrial
A date has now been set in the retrial of the people accused of conspiring to extort John Travolta over the death of his son, Jett ... TMZ has learned.
The judge in the Bahamas set the retrial for September 6. The trial is expected to last 4 weeks.
Pleasant Bridgewater and Tarino Lightbourne are both accused of demanding millions of dollars from John Travolta, in return for keeping a document related to Jett's death secret. Ironically, the document -- a medical waiver -- is of no real import.
The case had been tried last year but the judge declared a mistrial during jury deliberations because of jury misconduct.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, John Travolta, Exclusives
The Travolta Extortion Jury Vote
The John Travolta jury had the votes to convict both Pleasant Bridgewater and Tarino Lightbourne of extortion, according to a newspaper report out of the Bahamas.
The vote was 6 - 3 in favor of conviction, according to The Punch newspaper. In the Bahamas it only takes 6 votes to convict.
The judge declared a mistrial because of jury misconduct. No announcement has been made if there will be a retrial.
Michael Ossi -- Travolta's lawyer -- tells TMZ, "John was very disappointed because he wanted closure."
Ossi says Travolta will "fully cooperate" with prosecutors in the future and wants another trial, whether it's in the Bahamas or the U.S.
Ossi says there has been no discussion about a plea bargain.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, John Travolta
Travolta Mistrial Moron Escapes Punishment
The lawmaker who ruined the John Travolta extortion trial is as lucky as he is dumb -- a judge decided today not to punish him for his monumental mistake.
Senior Justice Anita Allen told Picewell Forbes -- who announced defendant Pleasant Bridgewater was innocent before the jury had come to a decision -- he had been "rightly ridiculed locally and internationally ... It is my opinion that you have suffered enough."
Forbes avoided being charged with contempt of court -- which could have landed him a fine or jail time -- by claiming he was only repeating a rumor he had heard about the verdict.
In case you forgot what it sounds like when an extortion trial gets flushed down the toilet ... here's audio and video of Picewell screaming "Pleasant Bridgewater is a free woman" over and over.
Filed under: John Travolta
Guy Who Ruined Travolta Trial -- My Bad!
Picewell Forbes is really sorry he screwed up the John Travolta extortion trial -- but he's not apologizing to the Travoltas.
Forbes blurted out "Pleasant Bridgewater is a free woman!!!" during a convention last week, forcing the judge in the case to declare a mistrial.
In his comments today, Forbes apologized, saying, "I hereby unequivocally and without qualifications offer my apology to Madame Senior Justice Anita Allen, in particular and to the entire judiciary of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. I further offer my unqualified apology to the Bahamian people."
Bridgewater, along with Tarino Lightbourne, was on trial for allegedly trying to extort $25 million out of the Travoltas.
Filed under: John Travolta
Travolta Mistrial Moron -- Explain Yourself!!!
The Bahamian buffoon who blew the whole John Travolta extortion trial is about to have his own day in court ... because the judge in the case wants him to explain himself in person.
Lawmaker Picewell Forbes has been summoned to appear before the judge, so he can explain why he blurted out that one of the extortion defendants was found not guilty ... before the jury had even made their decision.
Forbes' colossal screw-up was made at a convention for the Progressive Liberal Party last night -- in front of hundreds of people and multiple recording devices.
Forbes' attorney said the lawmaker was just repeating a rumor he hadn't actually verified himself -- which somehow makes him look even dumber than before.
The PLP has since apologized ... guess that didn't cut it.
Filed under: John Travolta
Travolta Mistrial - The Guy Who Screwed the Case
TMZ has obtained audio of the moment when Bahamian lawmaker Picewell Forbes blew the entire John Travolta extortion case -- screaming out at a political convention last night that "Pleasant Bridgewater is a free woman!!!"
Big mistake: Because when the judge found out the announcement had been made before the jury had come to a decision in the Travolta case -- the judge declared it a mistrial, believing someone in the jury could have been "communicating" with the lawmaker.
FYI -- Pleasant Bridgewater is a former Senator from the Progressive Liberal Party -- and the announcement was made at a PLP convention.
The PLP released the following apology for their monumental blunder:
"Last evening in the course of an address at our National General Convention, it was announced that former Senator Pleasant Bridgewater had been acquitted. The announcement was incorrect. We give an unqualified apology. This was not intended to interfere with the administration of justice."
More Travolta
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, John Travolta, Exclusives
Mistrial in Travolta Extortion Case
The judge in the John Travolta extortion case has declared a mistrial, reportedly because of jury misconduct.
Justice Anita Allen released the jury and declared a mistrial after learning that a member of Parliament announced at a political convention that defendant Pleasant Bridgewater -- a former Senator -- had been acquitted by the jury.
It's unclear if jurors had actually reached a verdict. There's an unconfirmed report that one of the jurors may have communicated information to the Parliament member who spoke out.
No word on whether the jury may have reached a verdict on Tarino Lightbourne.
Story developing ...
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, John Travolta
Travolta Suspect Plays the Stupid Card
The paramedic/defendant who allegedly hatched the extortion plot against John Travolta just told the jury the whole thing was an evil plot to set him up ... and he just played along.
Tarino Lightbourne -- and defendant Pleasant Bridgewater -- opted not to take the witness stand today, instead standing in front of the jury with prepared statements.
Tarino said Travolta's lawyer, Michael McDermott, called him up randomly one day and offered $15 million for the "Refusal of Transport/Treatment" document -- which had John Travolta's signature on it.
Tarino said he had kept a copy of the document for his autograph collection -- but he never explained how McDermott found out he had it in order to make an offer.
Tarino said he thought McDermott was setting him up ... so he decided to play along. Tarino also said he didn't even know what extortion was ... and still doesn't.
Pleasant also claimed she was innocent -- but never really explained why.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, John Travolta
Cop: Travolta Suspect Flushed Evidence
A Bahamas cop just testified defendant Pleasant Bridgewater admitted to giving key evidence in the case the dead goldfish treatment ... flushing it down a toilet at her home on the island.
Det. Sgt. Debra Thompson testified today about what went down on January 22 when they arrested Bridgewater -- who allegedly helped broker the extortion deal between paramedic Tarino Lightbourne and John's lawyer.
Thompson said the day of the arrest, they searched Bridgewater's office at her law firm ... with Bridgewater in tow.
At the office, Thompson said Bridgewater told them they weren't going to find what they were looking for -- a copy of the extortion document -- because she burned it with a candle and then flushed it down one of the toilets at her house.
Thompson said they then escorted Bridgewater to her home, where she actually showed them the candle in question -- so they took photos of it.
Thompson didn't say if they also took pics of the commode.
UPDATE: The prosecution is through calling witnesses -- they'll all be back in court on Tuesday. Stay tuned!
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, John Travolta
