John Travolta pays tribute to late son on what would have been his 30th birthday

John Travolta has taken to social media to pay tribute to his late son, Jett.

Jett - the eldest son of Travolta and Kelly Preston - tragically died at the age of 16 while the family was on vacation in the Bahamas in January 2009.

While his parents were celebrating New Year at the luxurious Old Bahama Bay Hotel on Grand Bahama Island, Jett hit his head on a bathtub after suffering a seizure. Jett, who was on the autism spectrum, had a history of seizures since he was two years old.

The teenager was found unconscious by a maid who raised the alarm.

Now, the 68-year-old Grease star has taken to Instagram on what would have been his son's 30th birthday.

Sharing a black and white picture of him and Jett with his 3.8 million followers, Travolta captioned the heartfelt tribute:

"My dearest Jetty, I miss you more than words can say. I think about you [every day]. Happy Birthday. Love, your Dad."

As of this writing, the post has amassed over 275,000 likes and 8,200 comments from people sending their love to Travolta and his family.

"Oh John. My hand in yours," wrote actor Jamie Lee Curtis.

Additionally, Jett's sister, Ella Travolta, commented: "Happy Birthday Jetty, we love you so much."

Following the death of their son, the family set up the Jett Travolta Foundation, a charity that works to help families of children with additional needs.

As reported by The Sun, Jett's death led to a $25 million extortion case after dad John alleged he had been blackmailed by Tarino Lightbourne, the ambulance driver who attended to the actor's son on that tragic night.

Lightbourne and his lawyer, Pleasant Bridgewater, were accused of trying to exploit money from Travolta and threatening to release "evidence" to the press that would place blame upon the Face/Off star.

The trial ended in a mistrial after a Barbadian politician suggested the result of the trial before it was actually reached.

In July 2020, Travolta would once again face a heartbreaking loss when wife Kelly passed away from breast cancer at the age of 57.

"Choosing to keep her fight private, she had been undergoing medical treatment for some time, supported by her closest family and friends," a representative for the family said at the time.

Featured image credit: Sipa US / Alamy