Illusionist Criss Angel pulled out of the Britney’s VMA performance after she wouldn’t put in enough effort.

Escapologist Criss Angel did what he does best when it came to assessing Britney Spears’s notorious Sept. 9 performance on the MTV Video Music Awards: He skirted the question.

“Were you embarrassed for her?” Larry King, on his Tuesday night CNN show, asked Angel, who had helped Spears with her VMA number, “Gimme More” – for which she ended up roundly criticized.

“I understand what she goes through in her life – she lives under a microscope, and it’s unbelievable to see – it’s difficult to watch,” answered Angel, 39.

“I really feel for her, I want the best for her, I want her to feel complete, and if she’s happy with her performance I guess that’s what matters,” the Mindfreak mentalist said.

As for how his involvement with the troubled pop star came about, Angel explained, “I was asked by my manager, who was also managing her career for a short time, to help put something together.”

As far as rehearsals went, “Everybody loved what we came up with, but it required a tremendous amount of work and dedication that Britney decided to not want to put forth and do something that she felt would be better suited for her,” Angel said.

He also denied rumors that he and Spears had been romantically involved, and said that he’s just “friends” with both Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton.

He did, however, cop to having dated Cameron Diaz whom he calls “an amazing human being” with a “heart of gold.”

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