The Movable Buffet

Dispatches from Las Vegas
by Richard Abowitz

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Criss Angel ignores chance to retract threat

April 15, 2008 | 12:46 pm
Crissangel Reporter Norm Clarke is becoming the Salman Rushdie of Las Vegas.

On Friday Criss Angel, whose freakishly dedicated fans are called The Loyal, allegedly threatened Review-Journal writer Norm Clarke.
 
Angel was apparently upset by Clarke's coverage of the Miss USA beauty pageant at Planet Hollywood in which Angel's girlfriend did not even make the finals.

None of this had anything to do with Clarke beyond a column reporting Angel's attempt to talk up his girlfriend to one of the judges. But that judge had already voted.

Angel, though, was so furious that, according to Clarke, after the contest, Angel charged him with a posse and threatened that the reporter would need another eye patch should he dare write about Angel again. (Clarke had one of his eyes surgically removed and wears a patch over the missing organ.)
 
It is unheard of for a headliner not named Sinatra to physically threaten anyone in Vegas. Vegas likes its headliners user-friendly. Even the snarky Penn & Teller finish each show standing outside their theater at the Rio talking to any fan who approaches them and posing for pictures.
 
But Cirque, which is currently in rehearsals for a $100-million show starring Angel at Luxor, amazingly has taken a neutral approach to Angel's outrageous behavior. A Cirque spokesperson told me that Cirque sees the issue as one between Angel and Clarke.

So, now Clarke has to be worried about Angel, Angel's circle (two brothers and a bodyguard, according to Clarke, were with Angel during the encounter) and, most of all, Angel's unpredictable fans, "The Loyal," who live to please Angel. Scary.
 
I tried to get Angel to at least clarify his threat to Clarke. I asked Angel's representatives repeatedly for a comment or interview with Angel. Yesterday, I wrote again worried because now Clarke has violated the illusionist's injunction and written about Angel again. Could Angel at least confirm that he intends no violence to Norm Clarke? In addition to Angel's representative, I also sent the same question to Cirque. Total silence.
 
It appears no one at this time will guarantee that Criss Angel has no intention of following through on his alleged threat to harm Clarke's one remaining eye. This is disgraceful. I personally think that both Angel and Cirque should apologize to Clarke. For better and worse, Angel is now a representative of Cirque in public. I think I understand that words spoken in the heat of the moment are one thing (even if the moment is as trivial as a beauty pagent). But going days without retracting a threat of violence is a scary precedent and should not be acceptable to anyone in Las Vegas.

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I agree with you that Criss should apologize for his actions but, at this point I'm still unsure about this whole thing. I mean it's not that I think he didn't do anything wrong just because I'm a loyal and he doesn't have the right to threat Clarke but, like I said I'm not sure about this quite yet.

This whole ordeal can be described as a lack of communication between everyone. Gossip and things that have been repeated between others and has some how tunred out to be untrue. There is no harm that will be done to anyone. so stop it please.

If you know Criss Angel then you know he says stuff like that in a slang language but never does it. Like when he told his wifes attorney he would vanish him. He is still there people. I personally take offense to you calling all his fans scary and freakish loyals. I am a fan and not always "loyal". If I see him do a wrong I say it. I come down on him hard. As do other fans. His fans are not scary at all. They are sweet people. Maybe a little scary looking. But not anything to be scared of at all. They are no different than anyone elses fans anywhere. All fans do the same things. Protect their idol. Purchase their stuff. Gawk over them. Etc. Etc. Etc. For your information. I don't have any of his logos tattooed on my body. I have never met him in person. I don't even have one picture of him on my hard drive. I want others who read your article to know what a lot of his fans are really about. Your article does not portray what they are really all about. Criss Angel's comments were slang and he was upset. It's not the reporters fault. He was told that by a judge. He just did his job and ran the story. If anyone is to blame it's the judge who told the reporter the story in the first place. That was supposed to be a private conversation. Criss was kidding it sounds like in his comments. I admit it was stupid of him to say that to a judge whether joking or not. You just don't say those kinds of things to a judge. That is just his personality. Criss does stuff without thinking at times and puts his foot in his mouth so to speak. :) Criss is sweet. That Norman man has nothing to fear at all as far as Criss is concerned. What I think upset Criss Angel the most is that he mentioned Criss Angel presented her with a diamond ring and tried to make up with her because of the reports of him being with Pamela Anderson a week earlier. He is going through a divorce and may not want his ex wife to know that he is going to get married to Veronica. It could be that he was upset that he talked about things going on in his private life more than anything. As much as I know about Criss Angel I really don't think he would get upset at Veronica not winning as much as he would get upset about people talking his personal life or things he does in private. I'm not sure why he gave her that diamond ring and I'm guessing he wants her to get married to him since we all have seen the tattooes they both have on.

Lastly Criss Angel is not stupid and he is not going to do anything that would damage his career. I mean do you really think he would throw his whole career away and hurt that mans only good eye? That is just silly. Unture. Maybe that's why they don't respond to you. Maybe there is nothing to comment about.

.........

Angel, said he would have put me in the hospital.

I welcome Norm Clarke to the club of people Angel and his knuckle dragging kin think they can scare, influence or impress.
Good to see Norm was no more threatened by this guy than any other grown man would be.

Since my business it predicting the future I will predict that the little girl he is dating takes a walk real soon.
Why?
Well that is simple she could not even place in the competition because of Criss and what he said to the judges.
He screwed her chances by running his yap.

Even if the judges wanted to vote her the winner it could not happen because of his actions.

It is possible she may not be smart enough to figure this out after all look who she is dating.
A middle aged Goth Boy with an extremely limited vocabulary and intellect judging from my interaction with him on NBC and Norm's recent interaction with the Mind Squeak.

I think the circus show is headed for the biggest loss in their companies history.

On PHENOMENON I said this would happen and now it is.

Tic Toc Criss.

Best Wishes,

Jim Callahan
Paranormalist

I agree. Criss is not a god, he is an entertainer. To be a celebrity believe it or not you have to have tough skin. Regardless of when he approached this judge is beside the point. It's totally unacceptable. And his behaviour to even a gossip columnist...ridiculous. If it was all just gossip then why didn't he just walk away and let sleeping dogs lie? I believe that Criss' actions should be taken seriously. He wasn't joking. This was the real deal, and for him to walk away now without explaining his actions are going to come back to bite him in the end.

Who is this 5'6" bully? As for Mr. Callahan, hope you read this again. I am one of your biggest fans. Lots of luck in your career!

Now, as for those Charles Manson type "loyals," what exactly do they see in this nut case that gets his arms branded with "A"??

I'll bet he failed english lit. The "A" used to be the scarlet letter. A great book by Nathaniel Hawthorne. But to Angel? D'uh. What is the "A"??? Hmm, don't answer that.

If you saw the Mind Fweak episode where he tried to make the young girls chest grow, then you know what this guy is all about. I can't believe that Cirque isn't taking their option to remove him from the show with all of this childishness. The sooner they cut their losses the better. I hope this reporter isn't distracted by Criss Angel's threats and the Goon Squad! Cirque was warned that this type of thing was going to happen.

ah sigh............if he did act like that, he needs to come clean and apologize. if he didn't act like that, then he needs to release a statement saying so. other than that, i think veronica is a manipulator. i know the type.

lol, charles manson type loyals huh.......i am a loyal, so tell me where to sign up for my swastyka brand on my forehead and my malitoff cocktail class then cause i didn't get the memo on that one. lmfao on that one. give me a break and get over yourselves and while you are at it, get a life too. seems to me you have too much time.......rock on dudes!!!!!

Kelli who are you on Mind Freak? The girl that was walking by and just "happened" to get levitated, or the girl that was 8 and suddenly became 20?

ok i'm a loyal and i'm proud of it. i see a very sweet and talented illusionist who has a backward "C" with an "A" in it branded on his left shoulder. i don't know who the 5'6" bully is that your talking about because criss is 6'0". i'm glad to see jim has one fan if he gets a few thousand more he'll just about catch criss. oh and by the way middle aged is 50 not 40. one more thing at least CRISS ISN'T A FAKE.

I doubt Criss would ever hurt this man. If he did, he would go to jail and it would ruin his reputation.
As far as his grilfriends'concerned...I'm not feeling her face. Sure she's "hot" overall , because she keeps her body in shape and is well made up, But, she kind of has got a big nose and if it wasn't for her well fit body and excessive makeup, i don't think she's anything special. But then again, I don't think a lot of girls in these beauty contests are all that beautiful. Sure some can be, but most of them are just average or slightly better because they have well fit bodies and are well made up. Nothings naturallly pretty about them. I acutally laugh that they call it a beauty pageant, Usually it ends up being more like a popularity contest in the end anyway. You'd think she'd at least place as a finalist since the competition was in Vegas and she is Miss Nevada. I could understand Criss being upset.

Ly...............

This message is for Jim Callahan. When you say Criss said he would put you in the hospital please in all fairness tell the whole story. I watched every single show and I saw how you acted towards Criss. YOU are the one who started screaming and walking towards him because you did not like what he had to say about you. Everyone who did not see this show and the outburst made by Jim then let me tell you what really happened. Criss was a Judge on the show and he was just sitting there by Uri in his chair. Jim became violent and started screaming on national TV and then started walking towards Criss in an attack posture. Criss jumped up and then they both were shouting at each other. The people on the show did not let it get out of hand and no one hit anyone. It was after the show Criss made the comments that if Jim would have actually hit him "first" that he would have put him in the hospital. Criss has a black belt in karate and we all lnow how fit he is and how strong he is. That is all Criss said. So you see it's not like Jim did nothing at all to Criss. Anyone would have got up out of their chair if a madman started coming at them screaming like Jim did to Criss. Anyone would defend themself. Goodness. So what are you saying Jim? Was Criss supposed to just sit there and allow you to scream at him then attack him as he sat there in his chair? Clearly you just don't like Criss because he thought your act was bad ghost man. Posting stuff on here to try and portray him as being a person to attack others with no reason is unfounded. I will not let you lie on him. At least if I know about it.

Furthermore, there is not one single person out there who would not get upset being followed by a reporter who had things they thought were private published. To me Criss has handled things a lot nicer than a lot of other stars. I have seen them actually "punch" out reporters. Al and many other stars. Criss is a gentle person. Unless he gets attacked first. Anyone would get upset when your every move is in some rag mag out there and you did not want it out there. What if the average person who was not a star had their every word and moved recorded or printed. That stuff gets old and these stars get stressed out from it. They have no privacy. Sheez! They can't even joke nowadays because people print things like this last article and stretch the truth.

Ahem... In the above article I also wanted to say I'm a fan. Not a "loyal". I'm a fair person to everyone. Also that the comment about the loyals looking scary. I mean that because of the goth make up. It gets a little to much for me. I'm not into anything goth at all. You also have to understand that a lot of those fans "goth" are younger teens. Just kids really. There are a dew adults who look that way and dresss that way but I think they want attention or to make some kind of statement. Not sure. But there was no pun intended. I understand there are going to be people different than me in this world who have very different taste. Either way it does not make them scary or bad. They are just different. Criss is different also but very sweet. So think about what was said about him and why he reacted the way he did before you start all the articles about him and portray him as being a violent man towards people. He is not normally that way. He was provoked. That is normal. That is just human nature to act like that. It's a normal reaction to get upset. BTW, Tell Norm I'm sure Criss will get over it also. I truly don't think he will have nightmares over his tiny little article.

Ladies and Gentlemen....As you can see I have nothing up my sleeve. HA! Always wanted to say that. :)
How many people actually have an emotional outburst on national TV and start "screaming" at teh judge and then charging towards him as if he is going to punch him out because teh judge basically told him he sucked? I have never seen anyone act like that on TV. Not even on American Idol. But Mr. Jim Callahan did act like that towards Criss Angel. Jim onlt told you what he wanted to tell you to try to feed into the already burning fire going aboutthe recent article. So don't his crap. He started it all with Criss. I saw it as did many others who watched the show.
End of story.

Ladies and Gentlemen....As you can see I have nothing up my sleeve. HA! Always wanted to say that. :)
How many people actually have an emotional outburst on national TV and start "screaming" at teh judge and then charging towards him as if he is going to punch him out because teh judge basically told him he sucked? I have never seen anyone act like that on TV. Not even on American Idol. But Mr. Jim Callahan did act like that towards Criss Angel. Jim onlt told you what he wanted to tell you to try to feed into the already burning fire going aboutthe recent article. So don't his crap. He started it all with Criss. I saw it as did many others who watched the show.
End of story.

Corrected above typos - Why did it post twice?

Ladies and Gentlemen....As you can see I have nothing up my sleeve. HA! Always wanted to say that. :)
How many people actually have an emotional outburst on national TV and start "screaming" at the judge and then charging towards him as if he is going to punch him out because the judge basically told him he sucked? I have never seen anyone act like that on TV. Not even on American Idol. BUT Mr. Jim Callahan did act like that towards Criss Angel. Jim told you what he wanted to tell you to try to feed into the already burning fire going about the recent article. So don't buy his crap. He started it all with Criss. I saw it as did many others who watched the show.
End of story.


I predict in the end of his career....due to the Attitude issue....Criss Angel will becoming one of the Vivid Entertainment highest paid Adult Actor......or taking his curent Rock Band in to another lowest level that curently in right now

Attitude determine one Altitude

I agree with everything Butthead has commented so far on here. You tell'em!!

CALLAHAN Please give your psychotic brain a rest; its really starting to piss me off. You look for nothing but high scores in the entertainment world and nobody really gives a sweet crap about what you have to say.You care NOTHING for a human life.All what you're interested in is MONEY, the GREEN.
You claim to be PSYCHIC?????? God will be showing YOU a psychic premonition soon, thats MY prediction.
Remember ,Raymond lives in me now


TIC- TOC JIMMY BOY!

Well, one thing the LA Time article pointed out, seems to be proving itself from the comments, i.e. “freakishly dedicated fans are called The Loyal”

Members in the fraternity of Magicians know all to well what the “real” Criss Angel is all about.

The so-called Loyals only get their gossip and news from the Pro-Criss spin-doctors and challenge or disbelieve the negative stories.

The Magicians get the real news from the source. Consider that most of the recent stories about Criss Angel are negative. Consider that the majority of Criss’ Magical advisors have left him based on ethical issues. Consider that production crew personnel, that have worked with him on the show, have left and have nothing good to say about the experience. Consider that it’s difficult to take a “Loyal” seriously when they are so star struck they tattoo a celebrities likeness on themselves for life…

In the Magic community – Crissy is a laughing stock and we are all waiting for him to implode…

I predict this Angel to Fall in the not too distant future. I also predict a flame-fest from the mindless Loyal.

This article has nothing to do with Jim Callahan and his response...let's get back on subject!

The point...Criss should have never threatened a gossip columnist. That's all he is, a gossip columnist. Whether you believe it or not is your choice, and Criss of all people should know that. Hasn't he proclaimed, "Believe 1/2 of what you read!" Criss' actions towards Clarke are absolutley unacceptable.

Whether Criss approached Mecca before or after the judging, it appeared that Criss did not know she had already judged the preliminaries, and thought she was actually part of the final night's performance. That in itself is so wrong. Regardless of the time frame he should have never made such an egotistical comment about "giving my girl good marks"...who does he think he is? And who does he think his girlfriend is? She's only Miss Nevada, and there are several other deserving women there. Just because he is a celebrity and happens to reside in the same city as the pageant and happens to be dating the beauty queen of the state in which resides gives her no more clout than any other girl. I believe she didn't get into the top 15 because of her personality (lack of it) and her ability to not impress anyone. And even if she had a chance to make it, regardless, Criss blew her chance out the window by talking to Mecca about it. If she would have won the competition the title would have been taken away due to "cohersing with the judges". Trump knows that to be true and never would have stood for it. It would have been like letting Katie Rees keep her title even though she posed for her porn photos long time before she ever won. It's the principle of the matter, and how things are respresented in the end.

To come back on a gossip columnist because of what he himself (meaning Criss) actually said just makes him out to be more of a hyprocrit. Whether you are tyring to defend someone you care about, you have to remember...CRISS SAID WHAT HE SAID, and Clarke was only reporting on it. Bottom line! And that is no gossip. And also to pose for a photo with Mecca at the after party is only a ploy on Criss' part to make himself look good again as to say that nothing ever happened and no one is angry with me. He knows how to work it to his advantage.

Now Criss will not retract or appologize, and his reps just want to "forget the whole thing". What???? Just to push it under the rug as if it never happened? Are you kidding me? Another ploy to make himself look good again. He can now use that "he's too busy" practicing for his show to get involved with this kind of interview. Not appologizing is only making him look worse. Not voicing his opinion about the situation as to why he did what he did in any explanation or form makes him look like he truly is in the wrong. And now the whole thing will just blow over with the hype of his live show approaching. Totally wrong! There should be reprocusions from this. This should not be the last of it.

I am a HUGE Criss Angel fan. This is why I am so upset. I do not in anyway believe that Criss is an "angel" as every Loyal thinks. Regardless of the situation, regardless of if Criss made a mistake or just lost his temper that night, whatever. Appologize and then move on. Hate Clarke for all we care. Whatever. But not retracting anything is just adding fuel to the fire if you ask me and not the other way around.

Criss' actions and comments over this whole ordeal are very disturbing. It makes me wonder if all celebrities with the power, money and success that they have are allowed to do whatever they want whenever they want and just walk away like nothing ever happened.

First, and I know it's off the subject, Jim Callahan is a hack who, instead of being out perfecting his "art" is sitting around leaving comments about a story on a website. Second, I can understand how Criss might feel about these stories. I myself am a little insulted by the idea that, as a Loyal, if I were to ever meet this "journalist" I would cause him bodily harm. I cannot speak for everyone, however, so maybe Mr. Clarke should be watching his back.

How do we really know that was The Jim Callahan. He is proably to busy talking to a dead person to be on this board. If that was Jim Callahan, I am Criss Angel....

Mind Freak on!

Criss

Most already know that CA lost a $50,000.00 challenge by Jim Callahan WAY BEFORE his lame envelope fiasco. But that's not the issue here. Sandy has hit the nail on the head. Criss' actions have now put Clarks well being in jeopardy due to the unstable kids CA's fan club attracts. He won't retract his statements so basically he's just waiting for some loony fan to hurt Mr. Clark. He is doing NOTHING to prevent it!

Most of us on the inside of the business know Angel was taken in by Callahan.
Angel was set up by Jim who by the way did accept Angels challenge.
(Something the followers of Criss fail to admit still)

How interesting the Freakish Loyals don't mention this fact.
They also fail to notice Angel lied about what Callahan is and does.
Angel attacked Callahan because he thought it would make him look good.

The Loyal will not even admit the truth that Angel did not expose Callahan.
Criss said he would but it is plain to see he still has not been able to.

But Angel is in good company because Callahan has also taken James Randi & the readers of Skeptical Inquirer.
(Not a bad endorsement for the quality of a performance artists work I would say)

However Callahan is not responsible for making the Loyals look silly and ill-informed for Angel has done this for Jim.
He lies to them and they believe him.
As some have said they gladly drink his idiot flavored cool-aid.

In fact I saw a posting were Callahan thought it was horrible that Angel psychologically compromised his followers and fans in such a way.
He also mentioned something about an upcoming video on You-Tube about it.

Callahan said he would ruin Angel's career but it looks like Angel is beating him to that.

Jim also said his show would be dead in a year and he might be wrong about that also.
From what I hear it may not even open.

J ack

 


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