“It’s meant the world to us. We know that we have a community. We know that we have friends. And we know that we are loved. We appreciate it. Jett appreciates it. We love you, Ocala.”

– John Travolta, in a touching speech to the town of Ocala, Florida before the premiere of his new flick, Old Dogs. John and the rest of the Travolta clan have remained more or less private since the shocking death of their son, Jett, and have been finding refuge in the small Florida town that John considers to be an adopted hometown.

The Travolta family made their first official red carpet appearance since the death of their son and brother Jett.  The occasion?  The premiere of Old Dogs starring … the whole family!  Specifically, it’s an acting debut for John and Kelly’s daughter, Ella Bleu — it was her night.

Also there:  Robin Williams with his very grown up looking daughter Zelda, Billy “Yes, I’m Still Alive” Idol, a virtually unrecognizable Joey Lawrence, and Lori Loughlin who was sporting the pointiest chin I’ve ever seen.  Were chin implants this summer’s designer dog carrier?

Kelly Preston was set to speak about her son Jett’s sudden death at the California Governor’s Conference that’s being hosted by Maria Schriver titled “Grief & Resilience”, but she pulled out of the panel and issued the following statement, “It is with my sincere apologies that I must pull out from speaking at [the] conference. I am sorry, but I truly believed that I could do it, otherwise I never would have said that I could. But I am still deeply in the process of healing, and it’s just too soon.”

The death of a child is said to be one of the most horrible things a person can encounter in life and while it would have been amazing if Preston could speak to her loss, it’s understandable that she’s uncomfortable making public statements at this time. Additionally, a great deal of controversy has surrounded the death of her son, with speculation that the parent’s religion, Scientology, prevented them from treating their son’s rumored autism the way that it needed to be treated. John Travolta, Kelly’s husband and the boy’s father, has always stayed quiet about his son’s condition and it wasn’t until the official documents associated with his son’s death were circulated in which he referenced Jett’s autism that these claims were made valid.

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…

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!

Mrs. John Travolta hosted the Church Of Scientology Annual Gala Charity Concert on Sunday in the U.K.

Crazy. Crazy. Crazy.

Proceeds from the “charity” concert go toward the construction of the Bluebell Railway Station in East Grinstead.

What the hell kind of charity is that?

I’m having a charity concert, too. In my living room, next weekend. Proceeds go to Haliburton.

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.