Logo

Deadline

Comedian’s 9/11 Lie Has Networks in Damage Control Mode — Here’s His Full Confession

Sep 16, 2015  •  Post A Comment

Comedian Steve Rannazzisi’s lie about surviving the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, which we reported previously, has two cable networks scrambling to figure out what to do about it.

Rannazzisi is one of the stars of the FXX series “The League,” and has a stand-up special, “Breaking Dad,” scheduled to premiere this Saturday on Comedy Central. Both networks issued statements after Rannazzisi apologized for fabricating the story that he was in the World Trade Center when it was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001.

Deadline.com reports that Comedy Central said in a statement: “We just learned about this last night. We are very disappointed to hear about Steve’s misrepresentations and are currently determining how we will move forward.”

With the second episode of season seven of “The League” set to air tonight on FXX, FX Networks issued a similar statement, saying: “We are disappointed to learn that Steve Rannazzisi lied about being in the World Trade Center on 9/11. It is upsetting that he would fabricate a story about having survived that horrible tragedy. It is also unfortunate that he did not admit to the truth sooner.”

The Deadline report notes: “FX Networks made no mention of any change in plans to continue producing episodes of ‘The League’ for this its final season — they’ve produced 11 episodes of the 13 so far — or to alter its play pattern on FXX. The company did say ‘we believe Steve is sincere in his apology and will do everything he can to make amends moving forward.’”

Rannazzisi has apologized for his false story and offered an explanation this morning in a series of tweets. Here’s his full apology and explanation:

After I moved with my wife to Los Angeles from New York City in 2001 shortly after 9/11, I told people that I was in one of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. It wasn’t true. I was in Manhattan but working in a building in midtown and I was not at the Trade Center on that day. I don’t know why I said this. This was inexcusable. I am truly, truly sorry. For many years, more than anything, I have wished that, with silence, I could somehow erase a story told by an immature young man. It only made me more ashamed. How could I tell my children to be honest when I hadn’t come clean about this? it is to the victims of 9/11 and to the people that love them–and the people that love me–that I ask for forgiveness. It was profoundly disrespectful to those who perished and those who lost loved ones. The stupidity and guilt I have felt for many years has not abated. It was an early taste of having a public persona, and I made a terrible mistake.

 

One Comment

  1. I wonder who wrote the apology for him? He should be removed from his stand-up show and episodes of his “comedy” scratched. Unthinkable stupidity.

Leave a Reply to randy bernard Cancel Reply

Email (will not be published)