In the weeks leading up to Britney Spears’ disastrous performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, rock-star illusionist Criss Angel was not only linked romantically to the beleaguered pop star, he was supposed to be working with her to create a true stage extravaganza for her first televised performance in years.

But, like one of Criss’ infamous illusions, when Britney took the stage that fateful night, he seemed to do a vanishing act. And now, weeks later, the Mind Freak star talks to OK! to clear the air.

“We were supposed to do a creation of stuff that we worked on and it took a lot of dedication and work to do the things that we wanted to do,” Criss, on the set of his new NBC series Phenomenon, recalls exclusively to OK! about Britney’s planned VMA performance. “Unfortunately for me, she didn’t really want to put forth that type of effort.”

Criss, who has also been romantically linked to stars Cameron Diaz and Minnie Driver tells OK! that he just wanted what was best for Britney. “Basically I said, ‘Don’t worry about me. Do what you want to do. This is a big opportunity for you to do the VMAs, so if you don’t feel it, go with something else.’ And she chose to go with something else.”

As for reports that their backstage differences had ruined their friendship, Criss tells OK!, “We’re still friends and everything’s cool.”

Source: OK!

Illusionist Criss Angel says his image as a serial dater is simply, well, an illusion.

“I just live my life,” the Las Vegas magician and A&E Mindfreak star, 39, tells Parade magazine’s Web site about his seemingly magic spell over such women as Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Cameron Diaz and – most recently – Britney Spears.

Expanding upon what he told PEOPLE on Aug. 17, Angel tells Parade about the sightings of him with Spears, “She had contacted me regarding some live performances. I’ve designed and created many effects for even Steve Wynn’s hotel and Le Reve show. And that’s what I do. So they brought me on to discuss the possibility of working on some stuff with her.”

He adds, “And, being that I’m insanely busy, the only time that I had was in the evening. And she was busy doing stuff, so we met in the evening.”

He also says the two of them were anything but alone together. “What you failed to see is, when we meet, there’s a lot of other people around a bunch of the time,” he says.

With Angel publicly clashing with estranged wife Joanne Sarantakos (Angel’s real name is Christopher Sarantakos), the entertainer is asked if he finds the press coverage embarrassing.

“Marriage is a very sacred thing. And I believe that my divorce was a private matter,” he replies. “Unfortunately, people think money makes you happy. And it doesn’t. Money doesn’t buy love.”

Of Sarantakos, he says, “The thing is, my wife was misguided by her lawyer, who is a celebrity lawyer, who is just out for attention.”

Sarantakos’s attorney, Dominic Barbara, has not commented on Angel’s remarks

Source: People

It didn’t take long for Criss Angel to cast his spell on Britney Spears.

After the illusionist introduced himself to the pop star at the L.A. eatery Cravings on August 15, their brief meeting was all it took for Angel to mesmerize Spears.

Later that night, the duo arrived at The Tower Beverly Hills holding hands and were seen leaving the same room the next morning.

Though the pair are reportedly collaborating on her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards in September, they appear to be engaging in business and pleasure.

Spears, 25, and Angel, 39, were seen the next night entering the W Los Angeles-Westwood hotel at 3 a.m. and didn’t leave till later that morning.

Meanwhile, on August 17, the new couple hit the trendy Tropicana Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel at 1 a.m. for a half hour before heading back to her Beverly Hills mansion for yet another sleepover.

“He’s got a different chick in his bed every night, but he knows the power of hooking up with famous, beautiful girls like Cameron and Britney,” says an Angel pal.

Is it magic? Possibly. “Criss is a magician – he knows how to do low-level hypnotism. If he ran into Britney Spears, I’m sure it was like shooting fish in a barrel,” says the friend, who doubts that the magician is in it for the long haul. “He’ll charm her for a couple weeks, get bored and drop her, probably after the VMAs.”

For more details on Britney’s magical hookup, and the latest on Spears’ custody battle over her children, check out the new issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands this week.

Source: US Magazine

And now, for his next magic trick – Criss Angel makes Britney Spears appear by his side.

The Mindfreak star hit the town late Wednesday night with the pop star in Los Angeles, with Angel hooking up with Spears and her friends at Cravings Restaurant in West Hollywood. The two were spotted driving around together in his Rolls-Royce, then later photographed entering The Tower-Beverly Hills hotel.

Spears, 25, became the latest celebrity seen with the Las Vegas illusionist, 39, who previously has been linked to Minnie Driver, Paris Hilton and, most recently, Cameron Diaz.

Spears and Angel have something in common: messy divorces.

Spears is tangling with ex-husband Kevin Federline over custody of their two young sons, with Federline subpoenaing several people in Spears’s inner-circle, including her close friend, an assistant and a bodyguard.

Angel is clashing with his estranged wife, the New York-based Joanne Sarantakos, who claims the she was forced to keep their marriage secret in order to improve his sex appeal among women – an allegation Angel vehemently denies.

The divorce is still in the New York courts.

Source: People