The Heartbreaking Reason John Travolta Skipped the Grease TV Show Premiere
During the 29th of March premiere of Grease the series in Los Angeles, fans quickly noticed that Travolta was absent — but not all of them know why.
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies was recently presented at Post 43.
It's a prequel to the good-old 1978 classic movie Grease, and it tells a story of how the Pink Ladies started.
Many stars gathered for the premiere, but among those who didn't was John Travolta — unlike the others, he had a very personal reason not to show up.
We already talked about the reasons behind Travolta's tears at Oscars 2023 which came as a surprise for many viewers. What may also surprise you is the fact that he skipped the Grease prequel premiere for the very same reason.
John Travolta is still struggling to overcome the death of one of his closest friends, Olivia Newton-John.
She was featured in the Oscars 2023 In Memoriam section, and it was tough for Travolta to present it; in the same fashion, his perception of the Grease TV series is different from others.
Olivia Newton-John played one of the two main characters in the original 1978 Grease movie: she played an Australian exchange student Sandy Olsson.
For Travolta, Grease is an important part of Olivia's legacy, and the release of a new show built on it so soon after her death admittedly feels wrong to him.
He didn't show up at the premiere because he feels protective of the original film starring his best friend.
"John is super protective of the original, more so now that Olivia Newton-John has passed," an insider close to Travolta claims, cited by Radar Online.
The relationship between John and Olivia has always been very warm and close, and though they have never been together, they always respected and valued each other.
Travolta's absence from the Grease prequel's premiere only shows what a great deal Olivia meant to him.