The organizers of Criss Angel's Las Vegas show have apologized for the star's "inappropriate and disrespectful" remarks after he launched a foul-mouthed tirade at celebrity blogger Perez Hilton during a recent performance.

The magician was onstage as part of his Believe revue - a collaboration with Cirque du Soleil - at Sin City's Luxor hotel on Friday (17Apr09) when he spotted Hilton in the audience. And Angel subsequently stopped the act to lambast the internet gossip king, telling the crowd, "I have to recognize someone special here in the house. Perez Hilton, please stand up. We have the world's biggest douchebag a**hole in the house!"

Hilton fired back, "Thanks for the free tickets," and proceeded to criticize the show by posting comments on his Twitter.com web page. And now the spat has forced bosses at Cirque du Soleil to confront the controversy - apologizing for what Angel did and vowing to reprimand the star for his actions.

A statement from the group reads, "Cirque du Soleil does not condone disrespectful behavior towards any audience member at any time. Cirque management will address such behavior privately with any of its artists to ensure it will not happen again. Along with our partner, MGM Mirage, Cirque du Soleil wishes to extend an apology to any audience member that may have been offended by Criss Angel's inappropriate and disrespectful remarks at Friday night's performance of Believe." (LR/LT&WNWCHP/ZN)

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