Steve Rannazzisi, Comedian And ‘The League’ Actor, Apologizes For Lying About 9/11 Close Call

Steve Rannazzisi, the American comedian and actor best known for starring on The League, has come clean and apologized for lying about working in the World Trade Center on 9/11.

Steve Rannazzisi Lied About 9/11

Rannazzisi was recently confronted with proof that he was not – as he has repeatedly said over the years – present in either of the Towers when two passenger planes hit. He has since acknowledged the ongoing lie and apologized for it.

“I was not at the Trade Center on that day,” he said in a statement provided by his publicist, Matthew Labov. “I don’t know why I said this. This was inexcusable. I am truly, truly sorry.”

On Twitter, Rannazzisi offered a more detailed apology:

“As a young man, I made a mistake that I deeply regret and for which apologies may still not be enough. 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,” Rannazzisi tweeted. “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,” the comedian added. “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?”

Rannazzisi continued, “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.”

Back in 2009, Rannazzisi offered up his false account of what he experienced on Sept. 11, 2001 on fellow comedian Marc Maron‘s podcast.

“I was there and then the first tower got hit and we were like jostled all over the place,” he told Maron, claiming that he ran out onto the streets of Lower Manhattan before the second tower was hit. “I couldn’t tell exactly where it went in, so I called up to the office, and it was pandemonium. They were like, ‘We are on our way down, we are on our way down.’ ”

“I still have dreams of like, you know, those falling dreams,” Rannazzisi had added.

Rannazzisi went on to claim in the interview with Maron and in subsequent interviews that he and his wife decided shortly after the terrorist attack to move out to Los Angeles so that he could pursue his dreams in the entertainment industry.

In the aftermath of Rannazzisi’s 9/11 scandal, Comedy Central is questioning whether or not to move forward with his upcoming special.

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

As for FX Networks, which hosts The League, they’ve addressed Rannazzisi’s harmful lies, but have no plans to halt production on the current season of the series, which follows a group of fantasy football fanatics.

“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,” FX networks said in a statement. “We believe Steve is sincere in his apology and will do everything he can to make amends moving forward.”