John Travolta has acknowledged for the first time that his son, Jett, suffered from autism. In painful testimony given during the Bahamas extortion trial linked to Jett’s death in January, Travolta admitted that his son had the disorder, and suffered traumatic seizures every five to 10 days. Travolta’s testimony notably breaks with the teachings of the Church of Scientology, which doesn’t recognize autism as a real affliction. A longtime Scientologist, Travolta has previously claimed Jett suffered from a rare disorder caused by exposure to household chemicals.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Farage’s £9m windfall: will it smooth his path to power?In Depth The record donation has come amidst rumours of collaboration with the Conservatives and allegations of racism in Farage's school days
-
The issue dividing Israel: ultra-Orthodox draft dodgersIn the Spotlight A new bill has solidified the community’s ‘draft evasion’ stance, with this issue becoming the country’s ‘greatest internal security threat’
-
Codeword: December 13, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
