John Sciulli/WireImage.com; Jason Merritt/Getty ImagesJohn Travolta may be the movie star, but attorney Gloria Allred is no stranger to the spotlight, either.
Now that the famed legal eagle is the counsel of record for two masseurs who have accused the Pulp Fiction star of trying to manhandle them during respective massage appointments, should Team Travolta—which has adamantly denied every aspect of the men's stories—be worried?
Civil attorney Anahita Sedaghatfar, a sexual-harassment litigation specialist, previously told E! News that it was the accusers who had every reason to fear Travolta's "pit bull" of a lawyer, Marty Singer. But now that Allred is onboard, Sedaghatfar is not predicting a happy ending for the actor.
"This is a game-changer," she tells E! News.
"The whole dynamic of the case has changed, because now pit bull Marty Singer has met his match in pit bull Allred. I think we have a level playing field."
Whether or not the case ever sees a courtroom, Sedaghatfar says, Allred is not shy about using the court of public opinion to put the accused on trial.
"We all know this is what Allred is good at, she is good at trying cases in the media," says Sedaghatfar. "Do I think she is going to refile the cases? No. She is going to use this threat of releasing new salacious facts to the media to generate a settlement from Travolta outside of court."
John Doe No. 1 had his case against Travolta dismissed with the help of his previous attorney, Okorie Okorocha. Then Doe No. 2—who has since been identified as 40-year-old John Truesdale of Georgia—dropped his case after hiring Allred, who explained to reporters last week that both cases had been dismissed without prejudice—meaning they have the option to refile their lawsuit with the same accusations.
Allred would not confirm a report that she spoke to Singer last week.
Sedaghatfar calls Allred's previous representation of Rachel Uchitel a "perfect example" of her M.O.
After Uchitel was outed in 2009 by media outlets as Tiger Wood's onetime mistress, she hired Allred. They planned a press conference that was allegedly going to shed light on Uchitel's involvement with the golfer, but "unforeseen circumstances"—aka, a reported hefty settlement—prompted a last-minute cancellation.
"If I am Marty Singer," Sedaghatfar says, "I would pick up the phone and call her and say, 'Let's talk in private.' He needs to do everything he can to make this case go away, without letting it get more public.
"Gloria Allred is known to come forward and release salacious details. This is how she wins her settlements."