In his newly released memoir Who Knew, Fox Broadcasting co-founder Barry Diller drops a bombshell about John Travolta’s dramatic exit from American Gigolo, alleging the actor was spooked by the film’s “somewhat gay subtext.”
As The Hollywood Reporter details, Travolta—riding high after Saturday Night Fever and Grease—was set to play high-end escort Julian Kay in Paul Schrader’s 1980 drama. But as cameras were about to roll, Travolta walked away from the role. In the memoir, Diller recalls Travolta crying in Paramount president Michael Eisner’s office, citing grief over the deaths of his mother and girlfriend.
But Diller wasn’t buying it, so much so that he claims to have told Eisner that Travolta was faking it and using him. Diller believes the real reason was Travolta’s fear of the gay undertones in the film. He writes that Travolta’s “twerpy, inexperienced manager” steered him away. Director Paul Schrader echoed Diller’s account, saying Travolta was shaken by career setbacks, family loss, and growing anxiety about the film’s queer layers.
Richard Gere eventually took the role and embraced the challenge. In 2012, Gere said, “There’s kind of a gay thing that’s flirting through it… I wanted to immerse myself in all of that.”
