One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Gloria Allred Swears She Didn't Steal Clients in John Travolta Sexual Battery Cases
Attorney Gloria Allred. Photo by BinaryLA via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
Gloria Allred has managed to snag not one but two of the clients who are accusing John Travolta of coming onto them while they tried to give him a massage. But she swears she didn't poach the clients from their original attorney.Originally, both John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 were clients of Pasadena employment attorney Okorie Okorocha. He ended up dropping John Doe 1 not long after it turned out that Travolta wasn't even in town in Beverly Hills to receive a massage from Doe 1 on the date of the allegations. Allred picked him up, and later John Doe 2 fired Okorocha and hired Allred.
Okorocha was pissed and accused her of stealing his clients. He told CNN, "I get the case to national prominence and then someone who only does press conferences and sideshows, and doesn't actually go to court or do trials, just steps in and says 'I'll take the clients.'"
Allred sent out a release defending her reputation, threatening Okorocha with legal action and making big claims: she doesn't call clients, clients call her.
I have been practicing law for the past 37 years and I have not and do not solicit clients. Clients come to me. John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 called me without my having any contact with them whatsoever prior to their phone calls. I demand an immediate retraction by Mr. Okorocha of his false statements.
Okorocha said he has a few other cases against Travolta waiting in the wings. He said he's worried Allred will work to reach a settlement behind closed doors.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
