John Travolta alleged former lover is striking back after the actor accused him of "wanting money" in a pending lawsuit, according to The Daily Beast.
Doug Gotterba released a statement detesting Travolta's comments, after claiming that he had a six-year affair with the actor when he worked for him in the 1980s and stated that the two had "gentle but very passionate" sex.
Gotterba, a former pilot for Travolta's aircraft company, Alto, until 1987, told the Daily Beast that he is only seeking a "non-monetary" judgment from the lawsuit.
"What John Travolta said about me in a recent interview is an inaccurate description of what our court case is about," Gotterba said. "Our dispute is purely about declaratory relief and will be a non-monetary judgment. This is about the truth and my right for a court to decide who is telling the truth, not for Mr. Travolta to make a judgment."
In a recent interview with The Daily Beast, the 60-year-old "Look Who's Talking" actor said the pending lawsuit is "just about people wanting money." Travolta, who is married to actress Kelly Preston, has faced rumors about his sexuality for years, but said that it comes with being famous, saying "this is every celebrity's Achilles heel."
In 2012, Gotterba reportedly told The National Enquirer that received a cease-and-desist letter from Travolta's lawyers, stating that he "breached the confidentiality provision" of a termination agreement he signed. Court documents stated that Gotterba planned to "publish a book regarding his personal and intimate relationship with Travolta."
The Daily Mail reported that Gotterba asked Travolta's lawyers for a settlement and agreed to not publish the book for $10 million. Gotterba claimed that termination agreement did not contain such a clause.
A court will "decide about the validity of the agreement and the validity of the confidentiality clause," the Daily Mail reported.
"Also, I don't care that much about it," Travolta told the Daily Beast. "Other people may attack it back more than I do, but I let all the media stuff go a long time ago because I can't control it. I think that's why it persists, to some degree."
Referring to the loss of his son Jett, who died at age 16 in 2009, the actor added: "I found it most offensive with the loss of my son. I felt like that was the lowest I'd ever felt. Sex stuff is always going to be interesting to somebody, but you stay away from family. You really should. With that, I always felt like the media-not all of the media, but parts of it-went too low there."
