Criss Angel Shaves Son's Head Amid 5?-Year-Old's Cancer Battle: 'Embrace What We Can't Control'
Criss Angel‘s son Johnny Crisstopher is rocking a new look as the family enters 2020.
In a video the magician shared to Instagram Wednesday in honor of New Year’s Day, his 5?-year-old son — whose cancer, Angel revealed last month, had returned — sits in a barber’s chair, a smock covering him, while his dad and mom Shaunyl Benson look on.
“I’m gonna cut Johnny Crisstopher’s hair because of his relapse that he’s been going through,” Angel, 52, tells the camera before the video cuts to him crouching down to ask his son if he wants to keep his hair long.
“Do you want to keep your hair long and we’ll just let it fall out? And [before] it falls out, we’ll just keep it in a ponytail? Or do you want to cut it off? It’s up to you,” the illusionist gently addresses Johnny.
The little boy doesn’t answer in the clip but must have given his consent, as the footage then goes on to show his dad first cutting his hair and then shaving his head. The video concludes with images of Johnny smiling as he sports the new style while he relaxes in bed, receives treatment at the hospital, wears headphones and more.
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We must embrace what we can’t control with courage, strength and forever love. #CelebrateLife #2020
A post shared by Criss Angel (@crissangel) on Jan 1, 2020 at 10:24am PST
The second slide in the father of two’s post featured a video montage of photos showing Johnny smiling, giving two thumbs up and showing off a cape that read “Childhood Cancer Survivor” on the back.
Angel captioned his post, “We must embrace what we can’t control with courage, strength and forever love. #CelebrateLife #2020.”
Benson shared an almost identical post, with a caption that explained their son’s “hair has been falling out in chunks” within “the last few days” and that despite the challenges, “This time around, we know what to expect.”
“Even though it’s harder than the first time, we know that it’s all part of the battle??and even without it, his face is still the most handsome face I’ve ever laid eyes on,” she added. “One day at a time my love ?? and before you know it, cancer will only be a small part of your story. The rest is yet to come ????”
“So beautiful said my love??,” Angel wrote in a comment.
Johnny was first diagnosed with leukemia in 2015, and had a brief remission before Angel revealed early last month that his child’s cancer had come back.
More recently, the magician supported his older son (he and Benson are also parents to Xristos Yanni, 11 months) as he returned to the hospital for chemotherapy.
The day after Christmas, Angel shared photos of the father-son pair on a hospital bed, captioning it, “Back today for a long day of chemo … @cure4thekids.”
On his Instagram Story, he posted snapshots of Johnny in his hospital bed, undergoing chemo. “Sad! ANGRY! But we WILL get through this!” he wrote along with an image showing a silicone tube on his son’s chest.
