Criss Angel revealed this week that his 5-year-old son, Johnny Crisstopher, is again set to undergo treatment for leukemia after the cancer previously went into remission. The magician told TMZ on Tuesday that the child will be going back to a hospital next week to restart treatment for a rare form of leukemia.
“He got diagnosed with pediatric cancer before he was 2 years old. He’s been in treatment for over three years. He’s been in remission, but unfortunately … he had a relapse and he’s going back to the hospital on Monday,” Angel told the outlet outside LAX on Tuesday.
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He also said he’s going to organize a massive fundraising event at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas for sometime next year in an attempt to raise $5 million for cancer research.
“But in light of that and all these kids that suffer with pediatric cancer, we’re gonna try to raise $5 million in one night at Planet Hollywood,” Angel said.
“We wanna try to raise 5 million bucks, so we need your help!” Angel said, pointing at the camera lens.
The Criss Angel Mindfreak star said that he’s “hoping to have lots of dear friends” and “huge artists” at the fundraising event, adding that he hopes to announce the roster before the end of the year.
The event won’t be the first charity event Angel has put on for cancer research. In September 2016, he presented another star-studded benefit to fight pediatric cancer that achieved its goal of raising $1 million, and he told TMZ in the past that money from every one of his shows goes toward cancer research.
Earlier this year, Johnny Crisstopher was honored by the Make-A-Wish foundation with a surprise visit from Ryan from the popular YouTube account Ryan ToysReview. In February, Make-A-Wish flew Ryan and his family out to Las Vegas, where Angel was throwing a celebratory bash to mark the end of Johnny Crisstopher’s cancer treatment. In photos and videos from the fun day, Johnny Crisstopher appeared quite starstruck by Ryan, who was smiling ear-to-ear and giving the toddler tons of hugs.
“I’ve been working with Make-A-Wish for many, many years prior to me even having a child, and I did about 50 wishes for children, and I raise a lot of money. I’ve raised millions of dollars for pediatric cancer,” Angel said in a video published by TMZ.
He added that despite his protests, the foundation insisted on helping celebrate the end of Johnny Crisstopher’s chemotherapy treatments after three long years.
“[Make-A-Wish] came to me and said, ‘What would you like your son’s wish to be?’ I said, ‘We don’t need you to do that. It’s OK; I have the means to make it happen.’ And they were like, ‘No, no, no, we want to do this for Johnny Crisstopher.’ They insisted,” Angel explained.
“They got Ryan and his family to come out. I threw a big event for pediatric cancer and Johnny’s end of treatment and Ryan was there,” he said, adding that “we had rides, food and an amazing time.”
Even back in February, Angel had plans for the $5 million fundraiser, telling TMZ that he was planning on pulling it off with help from celebrities like Gary Oldman and Imagine Dragons.
“We’re gonna try to raise $5 million in one night right here in my theater with the most incredible talent from Hollywood and Vegas to try and do some amazing things and make a small little dent in this horrible disease,” he said.
Angel and his longtime girlfriend Shauny Benson are also parents to son Xristos Yanni, who will turn 1 in January.
