Perhaps one of the most awarded and famous illusionists of our time, Criss Angel has successfully engraved himself in the minds of millions thanks to his unbelievable tricks. Through his “Mindfreak” TV show and world-famous performances, Criss Angel has become a household name in magic and illusionism.
While his fame speaks for itself regarding the quality of his art, the magician hasn’t freed himself from controversy. From lawsuits to accusations of throwing people out of his shows, and personal scandals, Criss Angel is a good example of what it means to match the eccentricity of his shows with a fair number of controversies.
So what is Criss Angel doing now, what are some of the most iconic moments of his career, and what are some of the highs and lows that he’s experienced to get where he is now? Keep with to find out!
What Is He Doing Now?
Criss Angel is decades into his career as an entertainer and magician, he’s still going as strongly as ever. By early 2025, he’s performing his “Mindfreak” show at Las Vegas’ Planet Hollywood, as part of the residency he started in 2019. The show turned out to be extremely successful, gaining him the title of “the #1 show in Las Vegas”, warded by the review site Celebrity Radio.
On top of that, he also starred in the show “Criss Angel’s Magic with the Stars”, which premiered in October 2022 on The CW Network. The show ran for one season and consisted of weekly competitions by celebrities who proved their illusionist skills after being trained by Criss Angel, who was also a judge. This marked Criss’s return to TV in his own magic-centered show since the special “Criss Angel Trick’d Up” in 2016. Other successful past shows of his are “Criss Angel BeLIEve” and his unforgettable “Criss Angel Mindfreak”, which ran from 2005 to 2010.
On the personal side of things, is the singer Shaunyl Benson, with whom he has welcomed three children. In 2022, Criss and Shaunyl’s oldest son Johnny entered remission after battling cancer for several years. The magician affirmed that this was a life-changing period of his life, and it prompted him to become a philanthropist.
All in all, Criss Angel’s career and personal life seem to be going as well as as ever these days.
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Controversies
While Criss Angel’s entertainment career is brilliant, he’s also had his fair share of controversies, such as being accused of throwing people out of his shows. The most recent of these happened in 2024 when a man named Brandon McDonald allegedly started a ruckus while in the audience, after refusing to shut off his phone during the show.
The situation with McDonald reached its lowest point when the man started throwing punches at people, refusing to calm down even after security tried to lead him out and so had no option but to subdue him with Criss’ help. Though the situation seemed to be blamed solely on McDonald, the man later sued Angel for assault as the magician allegedly choked him after the show. Nevertheless, no further details about the case were released after the news hit in January of that year.
This isn’t the first time that Criss has been accused of taking people out of this show. In 2022, Las Vegas 411 journalist Sam Novak accused the magician of expelling him out of his “AMYSTIKA” performance,due to what the journalist described as an ‘inadvertent tension’ between the parties due to his past reviews about the magician’s shows.
Other Scandals
Some of the most notable scandals that occurred in Criss Angel’s show include him lashing out at others. One unforgettable incident occurred in 2009 ,when he asked famous reviewer and internet celebrity Perez Hilton to ‘stand up’ at the end of his “Criss Angel Believe” stage show and proceeded to call him ‘the world’s biggest douchebag’, along with other insults. This was in response to some of Perez’ previous negative reviews about his show.
Also that year, another controversial incident happened, as he displayed a written homophobic slur while performing a trick in a December show. The issue later prompted Cirque du Soleil, whose members performed the show alongside him, to release an apology.
The Greatest #Levitation Of All Time performed in #MindfreakLIVE ONLY @luxorlv @cirquedusoleil #MagicRevolution RT pic.twitter.com/q6oDbY3Qr6
— Criss Angel (@CrissAngel) June 27, 2016
Some months before Criss hit the news with the latter scandal, he was at the center of controversy after a former associate and creator named Jacob Spinney sued for breach of contract. As Spinney affirmed in the lawsuit, he had sold three of his tricks to the famous magician in 2005, agreeing by contract that he would receive 25% of the profits obtained in the performance of these tricks, which Criss allegedly failed to pay after 2007. As reported by specialized sites, the lawsuit against Criss included confidential and proprietary matters, though it’s unclear what the whole result of the incident was.
Personal Life
Criss Angel’s public romantic relationships have been quite complex. After a four-year-long marriage with JoAnn Winkhart, in 2007 the woman sued him for ‘abandonment’ and ‘cruelty’, accusing him of cheating and hiding her from his public life. The divorce was eventually settled, yet that wasn’t the end of the bad experiences for Criss Angel, as he was sued again in 2015 by his ex-girlfriend Sandra Gonzalez.
According to the lawsuit, Gonzalez and Criss had developed a romantic and professional relationship over the several years they were together, during which she allegedly collaborated in his business while losing other career opportunities. The relationship ended in late 2014 when Criss allegedly left her for another woman, prompting Gonzalez to sue him.
Since 2012, Criss has maintained an on-and-off relationship with singer Shaunyl Benson. They welcomed their first son Johnny in 2015, when they also secretly married. However, the relationship resulted in a divorce by the next year, and soon enough, Criss dated Mexican singer Belinda from 2016 to late 2017.
The Future
Some months after his breakup from Belinda, Criss and Shaunyl Benson reconciled and announced that they were expecting a second child in 2018. The baby boy was named Xristos Yanni and was born in January 2019, just two years before Criss and Shaunyl’s first daughter Illusia was born.
Since then, the couple seems to be doing better than ever , even becoming engaged for the second time in 2023ans aren’t shy from demonstrating their love on social media and the like.
Criss and Shaunyl have been together through highs and lows, especially as their oldest son Johnny battled acute lymphoblastic leukemia, with which he was diagnosed at only 20 months old. Following his remission in 2022, Criss released a 13-minute-long documentary as the young Johnny faced all those challenges.
All in all, it’s great to see that not only has Criss Angel done well in his professional aspects despite his controversies, but also that his personal life cis in into place after so many bitter experiences.
