The New York Post published an article today in their Page Six Magazine detailing what went wrong with David Blaine's latest endurance challenge, along with some discussion on his career up to this point. Check it out here.
A select quote from the article:
JB's response to the article:
Regarding the New York Post - I spoke with [the writer] myself at the site for nearly an hour, of which none was in the article. Maybe one of the qualifications to get into the article was talking s***? I didn’t think that article was a fair assessment at all. The Drowned Alive record attempt was not a “trick faltering” - because it wasn’t a trick. In my mind, not meeting the record at the end of the Drowned Alive special was perhaps more poignant a moment than if he had. It showed humanity. It showed him not giving up. And in defeat, it really did show triumph. And months later, he tore up the record live on Oprah - something pretty bold to do live, given the obvious possibility that it might have ended the same way.
I take the writer at what it’s worth in understanding that the conclusion of this stunt didn’t go as planned, and was obviously a disappointing end to some viewers. But to discount an hour and 50 minutes of incredible magic and only discuss the final 10 seconds of the special - I think David deserves more respect and credit than that.
What are your thoughts?
A select quote from the article:
But over the past couple of years, public perception of David Blaine has flipped from genius to joke. He's earned a reputation in the media as a womanizer with a quick temper, and just two weeks ago, "Page Six" ran an item claiming that David ditched a bar after staff refused to comp his bottle service. (David says of the gossip: "People can believe what they want about me. The press loves to drum up a good story.") Days later, when he ended his Dive of Death stunt, bystanders actually booed. Viewership of the event's ABC broadcast last week clocked in at just 7.7 million—less than half the number of people who tuned in to see him eight years ago. And then there's the fact that his two recent tricks faltered: He did not break the underwater breath-holding record with 2006's Drowned Alive, and he is unhappy with Dive of Death...
JB's response to the article:
Regarding the New York Post - I spoke with [the writer] myself at the site for nearly an hour, of which none was in the article. Maybe one of the qualifications to get into the article was talking s***? I didn’t think that article was a fair assessment at all. The Drowned Alive record attempt was not a “trick faltering” - because it wasn’t a trick. In my mind, not meeting the record at the end of the Drowned Alive special was perhaps more poignant a moment than if he had. It showed humanity. It showed him not giving up. And in defeat, it really did show triumph. And months later, he tore up the record live on Oprah - something pretty bold to do live, given the obvious possibility that it might have ended the same way.
I take the writer at what it’s worth in understanding that the conclusion of this stunt didn’t go as planned, and was obviously a disappointing end to some viewers. But to discount an hour and 50 minutes of incredible magic and only discuss the final 10 seconds of the special - I think David deserves more respect and credit than that.
What are your thoughts?