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Criss Angel Blames Performance Emergency On Poor Diet And Lack Of Sleep

On Friday night, illusionist Criss Angel was rushed to the hospital after one of his routines […]

On Friday night, illusionist Criss Angel was rushed to the hospital after one of his routines caused him to lose consciousness and cancel his show. Not to be dismayed by something like bodily harm, the performer returned to the Las Vegas stage the following night to pull off the trick successfully. Now that he’s had time to get back into the swing of things, Angel said that lack of sleep, dehydration, and a poor diet caused his body to respond poorly to the stunt. However, considering his notoriety in the public eye has been dwindling in recent years, some critics claim that the entire situation was nothing more than a publicity stunt.

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Angel fired back at critics who think the whole ordeal was staged by saying that he’d never pretend to be in actual danger in front of his 3-year-old son, who was in the audience Friday. Angel explained, “I would never do something like that not only in front of my three-year-old son, who is going through his own battle with leukemia, but my mother who is 82 years old was in the audience.”

The illusionist added, “If you saw what they went through watching somebody that they loved have this horrific situation happen you know it wasn’t a stunt. It was completely legit and real.”

Angel is shocked anyone would think he could be capable of such a stunt, explaining, “The crazy thing is you always get the skeptics out there that think all of this is a publicity stunt or whatever.” He continued, “Quite frankly, Mindfreak Live is a sold out show, it’s the best selling magic show on the planet…I don’t have to do stunts to get people to come and see my show.”

Doctors advised the performer to avoid engaging in the routine so quickly after the close call, but he went ahead with it anyway. “I wasn’t 100 percent, but I did it,” Angel admitted. “The doctor who was at the hospital wanted me to stay overnight for observations and do a brain scan.”

Angel, whose real name is Chris Sarantakos, expressed how motivated he is by his audience, telling Good Morning America, “I wanted to get back to doing my show and thrill the audience with a show and a spectacle that the world of magic has never seen before.”

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[H/T Daily Mail]