Illuminutti

via James Randi Education Foundation – JREF

Toronto-based ‘psychic’ breaks her promise to contact JREF; now says she’s “not available” to have her abilities tested

LOS ANGELES—’Psychic Nikki,’ the Toronto-based psychic who claimed she’d be willing have her abilities tested for the Million Dollar Challenge offered by the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), now says she’s “not available” to be tested.

“It’s not surprising that Nikki isn’t willing to have her abilities tested under fair conditions,” said JREF President D.J. Grothe.

“Psychic Nikki” isn’t willing to have her abilities tested

“Of the hundreds of so-called psychics and other paranormalists who have accepted our challenge and agreed that our tests were fair, not a single one was able to demonstrate any special ability whatsoever. These professional ‘psychics’ are either deluding their clients or deluding themselves.”

Nikki first said she’d be willing to take the JREF’s Million Dollar Challenge in a CBC News story on Aug. 30.¹

The JREF called Nikki on Sept. 2, requesting an email address to send her information about the Million Dollar Challenge. After CBC News published a followup story² on Tuesday, Sept. 6, Nikki returned the JREF’s call, leaving a message in which she promised “I will try to contact you in the next couple of days for sure.” The JREF called her back within an hour, again offering to send information about the Challenge and answer her questions.

Why don’t you remember this headline?

A full week after Nikki promised to call the JREF “in the next couple of days,” she still had not responded.

Instead, she seemed to be backing away from the Million Dollar Challenge on Friday, when she said on CFNY-FM in Toronto, “I didn’t tell CBC I would do the test for sure, I said [I would] if I was available… I’m not available.”³ She went on to say, “I don’t have to take [the JREF's] stupid test … I don’t want a million dollars.”⁴

These are the reasons Nikki gave for avoiding the JREF’s Million Dollar Challenge, and the JREF’s response to each:

• “I have no time [from] now until next year.”⁵

This is an obvious dodge, as Nikki was unable when asked to describe the plans that prevented her from taking the test, even over the next few days.

• “[Randi] doesn’t have the million dollars.”⁶

The JREF’s Million Dollar Challenge account is held with the investment firm Evercore in New York, and the bank statement is available on the JREF web site. ABC News recently verified the status of the account for an episode of Primetime Nightline in which the prize money was offered. ‘Psychic Nikki’ never raised this concern to the JREF, nor responded to the JREF’s repeated attempts to reach her and answer her questions.

MORE . . .

References:

1. CBC News, http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/news/story/2011/08/30/psychic-challenge-randi-nikk.html
2. CBC News, http://www.cbc.ca/news/offbeat/story/2011/09/06/psychic-challenge-nikki-randi.html
3. CFNY-FM, Dean Blundell Show, Sept. 9, 2011, timecode 49:42 in the file available at http://www.edge.ca/DJsandShows/TheDeanBlundellShow/Audio.aspx
4. CFNY-FM, Dean Blundell Show, Sept. 9, 2011, timecode 59:20 in the file available at http://www.edge.ca/DJsandShows/TheDeanBlundellShow/Audio.aspx
5. CFNY-FM, Dean Blundell Show, Sept. 9, 2011, timecode 50:20 in the file available at http://www.edge.ca/DJsandShows/TheDeanBlundellShow/Audio.aspx
6. CFNY-FM, Dean Blundell Show, Sept. 9, 2011, timecode 53:25 (repeated at 56:50) in the file available at http://www.edge.ca/DJsandShows/TheDeanBlundellShow/Audio.aspx

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