Travolta rejects 'baseless' masseur lawsuit

Travolta's statement says the actor was not even in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES: John Travolta dismissed as a "baseless lie" a lawsuit seeking $2 million for alleged assault and sexual battery of a masseur, during a massage session at a Beverly Hills hotel.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles claims Travolta tried to have sex with the male masseur, whom he had allegedly hired for a $200-an-hour massage in January. Travolta's statement said the actor was not even in Los Angeles.

The "Saturday Night Fever" and "Pulp Fiction" star met the masseur, who was only anonymously identified as "John Doe," in his black Lexus SUV on January 16, according to the legal document published by celebrity news website TMZ.

The actor took the masseur to a bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and was given a normal one-hour massage -- but then Travolta offered to give a "reverse massage."

The suit claims that Travolta touched the masseur's genitals repeatedly, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The masseur told Travolta he did not have sex with clients. The 58-year-old actor called him a "loser," but paid him double the hourly rate and left, the document claimed.

"This lawsuit is a complete fiction and fabrication. None of the events claimed in the suit ever occurred," Travolta's publicist said in a statement cited by celebrity bible People magazine and others.

"The plaintiff, who refuses to give their name, knows that the suit is a baseless lie. It is for that reason that the plaintiff hasn't been identified with a name even though it is required to do so."

The publicist said Travolta was not in California, but on the other side of the country on the US East Coast, when the masseur claims the encounter took place.

"Plaintiff's attorney has filed this suit to try and get his 15 minutes of fame," the statement added.

"John intends to get this case thrown out and then he will sue the attorney and plaintiff for malicious prosecution."