Actor/comedian Steve Rannazzisi has come clean about a lie he told about escaping the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
In numerous interviews over the years, the 37-year-old star of “The League” said he was working at Merrill Lynch on the 54th floor of World Trade Center’s south tower.
“I was there and then the first tower got hit and we were like jostled all over the place,” he said in a 2009 in an interview on Marc Maron’s podcast.
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During the 2009 interview, he also said, “I still have dreams of like, you know, those falling dreams,” and he claimed that he watched the second plane hit the south tower from the street.
Rannazzisi also said the events of 9/11 inspired him and his then-girlfriend to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment.
The New York Times reported that Rannazzisi’s account was called into question this week and he then decided to admit he lied.
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“I was not at the Trade Center on that day,” he said in a new statement. “I don’t know why I said this. This was inexcusable. I am truly, truly sorry.”
On September 11, Rannazzisi was actually working in Midtown Manhattan and not at Merrill Lynch, which the NYT reported has no record of his employment.
The father of three explained that his children inspired him to come clean.
“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?” his statement continued.
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Adding, “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. All I can ask is for forgiveness.”
— Jesse Spero
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