OPENING UP

Travolta’s Ex-Pilot Can Sue to Speak Out

Claims he wasn’t just his pilot.

A judge ruled Tuesday that John Travolta cannot block his former pilot’s lawsuit to talk about their relationship during the 1980s. Douglas Gotterba has alleged his relationship with Travolta extended beyond the professional sphere. He worked for Travolta’s aircraft company, Alto, for six years. In 1987, he entered a written termination with an alleged confidentiality provision. Gotterba has claimed to want to “tell the story of his life and those involved in it,” but Travolta’s lawyer, Martin Singer, sent a cease-and-desist letter, warning he would breach his agreement with Alto by talking. Gotterba claimed the confidentiality provision was part of an earlier draft of his termination, and the agreement is “not authentic.” California appeals court presiding justice Arthur Gilbert has now given Gotterba the go-ahead to sue for the right to speak openly about his relationship with Travolta. This should get interesting, folks.