Weird News

John Travolta was 2,475 miles from L.A. the day a masseur claims the actor sexually assaulted him at a Beverly Hills hotel -- and TMZ has obtained photographs which his people say will prove it.

We're told the photos were snapped January 16th in NYC. Travolta sources say they have proof positive of the location and date of the photos -- New York, January 16.

The photos could torpedo the case of John Doe #1, an unidentified male masseur who filed suit against Travolta for allegedly grabbing his penis and scrotum the very same day ... during a massage session at the 90210 hotel.

And there's more ... a receipt from a meal Travolta ate at Mr. Chow in New York ... also on January 16th (below).

The bill totaled $382 and the tip was $100 -- the kind of generous tip for which Travolta is known. We've confirmed Travolta ate the meal at Mr. Chow.

Another masseur filed suit against Travolta yesterday, claiming the actor tried to grab his penis during a massage session on January 28th in Atlanta. The same lawyer is handling both cases.

Travolta's attorney Marty Singer calls both lawsuits "absurd and ridiculous."

The lead singer of the band Against Me! -- famous for their hit "I Was a Teenage Anarchist" -- tells Rolling Stone he's becoming a woman ... but he's NOT attracted to men.

According to the magazine, 31-year-old Tom Gabel says he has a condition called gender dysphoria ... just like Chaz Bono (except in reverse) ... and has questioned his sexual identity since he was a kid.

Tom says he will take hormones and undergo electrolysis to help his transformation into a woman ... and is considering undergoing surgery to aid in the process.

Gabel tells the magazine his new name will be Laura Jane Grace.

Despite the transformation, Tom says he's NOT attracted to men ... and will still be married to his wife ... with whom he shares a 2-year-old daughter.

Tanning Mom Patricia Krentcil is running out of places to hide -- TMZ has learned, several tanning salons surrounding her NJ home have BANNED her from their premises ... and now, even the NJ Department of Health is getting involved.

Sources tell TMZ, Planet Sun Tanning Salon -- which runs 8 tanning locations around Patricia's Nutley, NJ home -- has already posted pictures of Patricia behind its employee counters to help workers recognize her (below).

According to sources, employees have been ordered to ask Patricia to leave immediately if she ever shows up.

Several other nearby tanning salons -- including Body Works Salon, Bodies in Heat, and Sunset Tans -- have also instituted similar no-Tanning Mom policies.

As for the NJ Department of Health -- a rep for the department tells us, it will be teaming up with the local Nutley Health Department to inspect the tanning salon Patricia allegedly used to tan her 5-year-old daughter ... a place called City Tropics Tanning.

Keyshawn Johnson -- former NFL star and current ESPN commentator -- unwittingly let a freelance photographer into his gated neighborhood who got busted for spying on the Kardashians.

Sources tell TMZ ... Kim Kardashian and her sisters, Khloe and Kourtney, were shooting their reality show Monday in The Oaks ... the double-gated Calabasas community where Kourtney lives. They noticed a Dodge sedan parked near the shoot which lasted nearly 8 hours.

We're told at the end of the shoot, the Kardashian trio walked past the Dodge, when the person inside poked a camera out the window and started shooting. The girls confronted the dude, saying he was shooting in a private, gated community, and the guy began profusely apologizing.

We're told Kourtney called the cops and The Oaks community security who came a-callin', and quickly determined the photog had a pass to get into the community by another resident -- Keyshawn Johnson.

Our sources say security told Kourtney that Keyshawn would be fined $1,000 for letting the guy in.

We spoke to Keyshawn who says he did approve a pass for the guy -- but only to make a delivery to his home. He also says he hasn't heard anything about a fine ... which, by the way, would have to be voted on by the homeowner's association.

POP QUIZ -- "Put the whole thing in your mouth" ... "Swallow it" ... "Keep it in there" ... these are all phrases that appear in ... A) Octomom's new porn .... or B) her recent attempt at "The Cinnamon Challenge."

If you answered A, you're probably right -- except the correct answer is B.

For those who don't know, the Cinnamon Challenge is when you try to swallow a tablespoon of ground cinnamon in 60 seconds or less ... no water, no nothing.

John Travolta's lawyer is lashing out at the second "anonymous" male masseur who's accused the actor of sexual harassment -- calling the 2nd claim "just as absurd and ridiculous as the first one."

Travolta's powerhouse attorney, Marty Singer, just released a statement in response to a report that a second accuser filed legal docs claiming Travolta grabbed his genitals and masturbated during a massage session on January 28th at an unidentified Atlanta spa resort.

Singer calls the new allegations "absurd and fictional" ... and says they're "just as fabricated" as the claims made by John Doe #1 in the initial lawsuit filed May 4th.

Singer also blasts the lawyer who's representing both accusers -- claiming the attorney obviously read media reports which poked holes in accuser #1's story ... and then made adjustments when asserting claims on behalf of the 2nd alleged victim.

We've put in multiple calls to the lawyer who filed the claims -- but he has yet to return our calls.

You may not have realized it when you were in the theaters this weekend, but "The Avengers" is not a movie ... it's a guerrilla marketing campaign for the shawarma industry!!! We'll explain ...

At the end of the "film," a scene within the credits shows the movie's stars eating lunch at an undisclosed location (not a secret lair or anything, they just didn't say). The meal of choice was shawarma ... a callback to something Robert Downey Jr.'s character had said earlier in the movie.

TMZ spoke with several different fine eating establishments all across Los Angeles ... and they all say sales of shawarma went through the roof this weekend.

At Ro Ro's Chicken -- a famed Lebanese joint in Hollywood -- the manager says shawarma sales jumped 80% in the days after the movie opened. We're told the same thing happened a few years back when a baba ghanouj joke was featured in "You Don't Mess with the Zohan."

John Travolta says the lawsuit claiming he sexually assaulted a masseur is a total lie ... and that he was 2,475 miles from the place it supposedly happened.

Travolta's rep tells TMZ ... John was on the East Coast the day the masseur claims John got on the massage table and, among other things, allegedly grabbed the guy's penis and then masturbated.

The statement says, "This lawsuit is a complete fiction and fabrication. None of the events claimed in the suit ever occurred."

The statement notes, the masseur didn't disclose his name in the lawsuit -- he sued as "John Doe."

John Travolta has been sued by a masseur, who claims the actor tried to have sex with him during a session.

According to the lawsuit, Travolta saw the masseur's ad online, and scheduled an appointment for $200 an hour. The masseur did not know it was Travolta when the appointment was booked, but followed instructions and met up with a black Lexus SUV, which Travolta was driving.

According to the suit, Travolta and the masseur, who says he saw Trojan condoms in the center console, drove to the Beverly Hills Hotel and went to Travolta's bungalow.

The suit claims Travolta stripped naked, appearing semi-erect. The masseur says he told Travolta to lay down on the table and the first hour went without incident. Then, according to legal docs, Travolta began rubbing the masseur's leg, touched his scrotum and the shaft of his penis.

The masseur claims he told Travolta he did not have sex with his clients, but Travolta was undeterred, offering to do a "reverse massage," adding, "Come on dude, I'll jerk you off!!!"

The suit goes on to allege Travolta then masturbated and told the masseur he got to where he was "due to sexual favors he had performed when he was in his 'Welcome Back Kotter' days," adding "Hollywood is controlled by homosexual Jewish men who expect favors in return for sexual activity."

The masseur -- who is only listed as John Doe -- claims Travolta called him a loser, but then doubled the hourly rate and sent him on his way.

The suit seeks $2 million plus punitive damages.

56-year-old Bill Gates and 81-year-old Warren Buffett lost control of their balls yesterday -- getting their asses WHOOPED by a teenage ping pong prodigy in Nebraska ... and the footage is hilarious.

Bill and Warren were in town for some business conference thing in Omaha -- where they faced off against 16-year-old Ariel Hsing ... a current member of the U.S. Olympic table tennis team.

Needless to say, they didn't last very long -- until Buffett whipped out his over-sized secret weapon.

FYI -- it's the second time Ariel has kicked Buffett's ass ... the two previously went head-to-head in 2007 when Ariel was just 11 years old (below).

Tanning Mom looks like she's 102-year-old bacon, but thinks she's a hip-hop fan in her 20s -- 'cause she was bumping Jay-Z loud enough to shatter the windows ... on her MINI-VAN!!

Tanning Mom -- aka Patricia Krentcil, aka Crypt Keeper, aka Burnt Beef Jerky -- was sitting in her driveway this weekend in Nutley, NJ blasting the only Jigga song you'd expect her to play ... "Young Forever."

While TM was chillin' to Jay ... she clearly got a little pissed off waiting for her husband.

Eventually, she stormed out of the car and back into the house ... showing off her severely over-tanned legs in a severely revealing outfit.

"I Like That" singer Houston -- who famously suffered an emotional breakdown in 2005 and gouged his own eye out with a fork -- was arrested this week in L.A. for DUI ... and TMZ has obtained his mug shot.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, 28-year-old Houston -- full name Houston Summers -- was driving erratically near Malibu Wednesday in an older-looking SUV ... so cops pulled him over.

According to law enforcement, officers approached the vehicle and it smelled of marijuana. When police asked Houston questions, we're told his answers were incoherent.

Houston was then placed under arrest on suspicion of DUI. Sources tell TMZ, cops believe Houston was driving under the influence of drugs ... not alcohol.

The singer was released from jail Thursday. Calls to Houston were not returned.

As for Houston's 2005 breakdown -- the singer reportedly first attempted suicide by jumping out of a window while under the influence of PCP. His friends stopped him, but when they locked him in a first-floor room, Houston gouged his eye out with a plastic fork.

Justin Bieber's appearance with Floyd Mayweather last night was months in the making -- and sources close to The Biebs tell TMZ ... Justin feels his new "mentor" is really just "misunderstood."

According to our sources, Mayweather asked Bieber four months ago to join him in Las Vegas for the Miguel Cotto fight ... and Bieber, a huge boxing fan, jumped at the opportunity.

We're told Floyd and Justin became friends after Floyd saw Justin's movie, "Never Say Never," and reached out to his camp. According to our sources, Floyd decided he wanted to mentor Justin and the two developed a relationship.

Our sources say Mayweather tried to impart his work ethic on Justin, basically telling him he could develop the same level of "greatness" Floyd achieved ... if he worked as hard as Floyd did.

We're told the two hit it off and Justin tells people he thinks Floyd is just misunderstood ... and that he is a really a "hard-working and clean-cut guy."

Several judges would disagree, but whatever ...

Look out Scarlett Johansson ... Woody Allen has a new buxom, young muse in his sights ... and that muse is Lindsay Lohan.

The unlikely duo was spotted out in NYC last night at fancy-schmancy Philippe restaurant -- and we're told this isn't their first spin on the friendship bicycle.

Sources close to Lindsay tell TMZ ... Allen and Lilo have been friends for years now and he's one of her biggest supporters -- never jumping on the judgment bandwagon.

We're told there are no projects officially on the books right now, BUT sources tell us they've been throwing around the idea of Lindsay being in one of Allen's future films -- which would be huge for Lilo, since his last flick, "Midnight in Paris," was nominated for a bunch of Academy Awards.

We're also told Lindsay has nothing but respect for the quadruple Oscar-winning director and would LOVE to work with him.

Of course Floyd Mayweather took care of business last night against Miguel Cotto -- he had the dreaded masters of intimidation in his corner, like Lil Wayne, 50 Cent and ... Justin Bieber?

Bieber walked out with Mayweather before the fight and was in the ring with him after to celebrate the victory.

It's unclear how the two hooked up, though Bieber did once compare himself to Mayweather in an interview. Earlier in the day, Bieber tweeted, "cinco de mayo.... #MayweatherCotto yeah @FloydMayweather today is a BIG day."

So we have to ask ...

Octomom has deep, dark plans for the money she's earning with her new solo masturbation video -- telling TMZ, she wants to buy a "dungeon" with the cash ... to keep her and her 14 kids safe from the prying eyes of the public.

Of course, "dungeon" is a metaphor -- what Nadya Suleman means is she wants to buy a house that's far away from everything ... preferably in a low-key gated community ... where she can "hide."

Octo was on her way into Makeup Mandy in West Hollywood this week -- to get a spray tan for her big shoot -- and she told us, "The only dream I have is to buy a safe home for my family."