Photo courtesy of The Daily Mail.
Summary: David Copperfield testified in court today, and he was forced to reveal the secret behind the Lucky 13 illusion.
Magician David Copperfield probably wants the lawsuit against him to disappear. On Wednesday, the famed illusionist took the stand in Las Vegas, and he said that he didn’t know one of his tricks had injured a tourist until the complaint was filed, according to NBC News.
On the stand, Copperfield did not acknowledge his liability for the injuries plaintiff Gavin Cox said he suffered, but he said that if someone did get hurt during one of his tricks then he could be to blame.
“It depends on what happened. If I did something wrong, it would be my fault,” Copperfield said.
Cox is represented by attorney Benedict Morelli. The plaintiff said that he saw a Copperfield show in Las Vegas in 2013, and he was asked to participate in an illusion. During the trick, he was told to rush from one point to another, and he said he was injured during this time.
Morelli said that Cox was hustled through a dark alley coated with construction dust and that was the cause of his client’s fall.
On the stand, Copperfield, 61, was asked how the trick, Lucky 13, was performed, and he reluctantly was forced to disclose his magician’s secret. His lawyers had asked pretrial if the proceedings could be closed to avoid disclosing his performance secrets, but Judge Mark Denton refused the order.
Morelli was in the audience at a Copperfield show when he was chosen to participate in Lucky 13. During this trick, 13 balls are thrown into the audience, and those who catch the balls are brought on stage, according to The Daily Mail. The randomly-chosen guests are asked to sit on the stage and then are covered with a curtain. The curtain is removed, showing the participants had vanished, and they later emerge somewhere else, to the astonishment of the crowd.
Cox sued Copperfield for more than $400,000 in medical expenses. The British tourist said that he suffered brain and body injuries, and he and his wife Minh-Hahn Cox sued Copperfield, the MGM Grand, show producer Backstage Employment and Referral, and construction firm Team Construction Management.
Copperfield is due to return to court next Tuesday for more questioning. He is estimated to be worth almost $850 million.