Ugh. This is just awful. Someone is extorting John Travolta for millions of dollars, threatening to release a photo taken of his son Jett as he was dying if the Travoltas don’t pay up.

The extortion plot was revealed as Travolta remained in seclusion at his sprawling home on the Jumbolair estate in central Florida.

Friends say he is still struggling to come to terms with the death of his son.

He has yet to be seen in public, and has rarely ventured from his home into the nearby town of Ocala where he is well known and despite his Hollywood status left alone

The extortion plot is believed to revolve around a photograph of Jett as he lay in the back of an ambulance. It is understood to have been taken on a mobile phone.

The alleged blackmailers are thought to have made contact with Travola and his Florida based lawyers Michael Ossi and Howard Butler.

Source close to the lawyers said Travolta was asked for money to keep the photograph from being sold.

I hope this photo doesn’t exist, and, if it’s released, I hope nobody runs it. Lord knows we certainly won’t. I don’t claim to have a whole lot of morals, but I draw the line at photos of dying teenagers.

Not knowing the Travolta family personally, I will still bet that this has been the worst week of their lives.  They are mourning the loss of their only son Jett and I am sure that their entire focus right now is on survival.

John Travolta was scheduled to present at the Golden Globes tomorrow night and is also nominated, along with Bolt co-star Miley Cyrus, for Best Original Song.  And though I never try to estimate any person’s level of grief, I am assuming he won’t be attending…right?  However, as of today, he is still on the schedule to appear.  I’m praying this is some oversight on the part of his, understandably distracted, management team.

UPDATE:  Ok, whew, he just cancelled.

Regarding the tragic loss of their son, Jett, the following statement was released on Kelly Preston’s website:

We would like to extend our deepest and most heartfelt thanks to everyone who has sent their love and condolences.

Jett was the most wonderful son that two parents could ever ask for and lit up the lives of everyone he encountered. We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief. We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives. We have received many messages of condolence from around the world and we want to thank everyone for their prayers and support. It has meant so much to us. It is a beautiful reminder of the inherent goodness in the human spirit that gives us ahope for a brighter future.

With love,
John, Kelly and Ella

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday with a burial planned for mid-week.  Obviously, it is just the worst thing that could happen to any parent.  Really no words…

This is awful!!!

John Travolta’s 16-year-old son, Jett, has died while on vacation in the Bahamas.

Details are still sketchy, but it appears he died of a seizure after hitting his head on a bathtub.

What’s even stranger is that he was last seen heading into the bathroom yesterday, but his body wasn’t discovered until 10 am today.

Thoughts and prayers are with the Travolta family. This is so terrible!

Tom Hanks’ back-to-back Best Actor Oscars in 1993-94 for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump were just a time killer while he was waiting to be bestowed the greatest gift of all…a career courtesy of John Travolta.  Travolta’s rejection of the lead in the 1999 film The Green Mile was what really opened doors for Hanks.  Not Bosom Buddies, Splash, or Big.  Or two Academy Awards won over half a decade prior to the release of Green Mile.  It was all about John Travolta saying “Thanks, but no thanks.”  Tom Hanks must just wake up every day saying “I owe every success I have to Freddie Mercury John Travolta.”  

Now if America’s favorite Scientologist could just say “no” to hair in a can…

Here’s Revolta’s official arrogance:

“Green Mile I probably should have said yes to… But I gave…Tom Hanks a career!  What you turn down can be a gift to someone else.”

The Travoltas bring their daughter Ella to the set of the upcoming Old Dogs, which is filming in NYC.

No sign of The Other Son Who They Refuse to Admit is Autistic. If we all just stay very quiet about it, maybe it’ll be like he never existed at all. Shhhh.

Okay, we’re doing this in several parts, because there are just too many fabulous photos from this event. We’ll start with John Travolta, walking the red carpet with the portion of his family that doesn’t have autism. He actually doesn’t look half bad, although my guess is that the list of plastic surgery procedures he’s had in the past year is about as long as the list of available treatments for his son’s autism, should he ever choose to acknowledge it. Kelly totally misread the invite and thought this was the Valley of the Dolls premiere. And I’m pretty sure Ella is sporting hair extensions.