A traumatized cruise ship magician breaks his silence after being attacked on stage by a woman’s jealous lover, while revealing the most confusing parts of the ordeal.
- Magician attacked by man during cruise show
- Ben Murphy was filmed being boarded on Royal Caribbean
A magician who was attacked by a jealous man while performing for an audience aboard a cruise ship has broken his silence after the traumatic experience, saying it was particularly confusing given that he is gay.
Ben Murphy was wowing the crowd with magic tricks on Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas when he was attacked shortly after inviting a female audience member onto the stage.
The magic trick, which Murphy had been performing for over a decade, involved him and the woman leaning towards each other and using their mouths to touch a folded card wedged between their lips.
But seconds later, an angry man, whose relationship to the woman is unknown, rushed onto the stage and tackled Mr. Murphy, leaving a bruise on his arm.
The woman was seen pushing the man, visibly upset with him, before he walked away.
Murphy claims that Royal Caribbean has done little to rectify the situation, reportedly telling him that no one had seen the incident.
The magician recalled his perspective on the incident in A Current Affair on Wednesday night.
“I mean, it’s kind of on a loop in my head,” he said.
“I just remember this really angry looking face that dove out of the audience and jumped on top of me.
“My legs slammed into the back of the stage and then I fell backwards and this angry face was right on top of me.
It is so sudden, so violent and so unnecessary.
“It’s a magical comedy show with a guy in a sequin jacket who just came out open about being gay.”
Murphy quickly reported the incident to backstage staff after the man stormed out of the packed theater to an orchestra of boos.
However, he claims that he was told no action would be taken as there were no witnesses despite numerous members of the audience catching the incident on camera.
“I found it really strange that there are no witnesses,” Murphy said.
‘How can they sit me on stage and attack me in the middle of a show and there are no witnesses. It’s just, it’s rubbish, it’s offensive. He is negligent.
Leaving the ship, Murphy went directly to Queensland Police to report the incident despite Royal Caribbean not providing him with the name of his attacker.
“It is my understanding that the police when I last spoke to them, they still have not been given the name of the shooter in a statement,” Murphy said.
The magician who was attacked while performing on a cruise ship stage, Ben Murphy (pictured), spoke out about the incident, saying Royal Caribbean did little to rectify the situation.
Footage captured from the gruesome moment shows Mr Murphy performing a stunt on a woman in the audience before a man rushes onto the stage and knocks him over.
A Royal Caribbean statement to A Current Affair reads: “At Royal Caribbean International, the safety of our crew and guests is our number one priority.”
“We are aware of the incident that took place aboard the Quantum of the Seas. Our investigation into this incident is ongoing and as such we are unable to provide further comment,” the statement continued.
Images of the incident quickly made their way to social media, and users quickly swooped in to defend Murphy, sharing their shock at the footage.
“We were in the audience for this and my jaw nearly hit the floor… I’m sorry not only for you but also for the poor wife and children who watched it all,” one wrote.
Another added: “We were in the audience and it was absolutely crazy!”
‘We assume he would have been locked in his cabin for the rest of the cruise and I’m furious if he wasn’t!
‘You did an amazing job continuing with the rest of the show. I hope you’re well.
Murphy is a comedy magician and illusionist who has toured the world to perform his acts.
