Busted! Comedian and TV star Steve Rannazzisi told a detailed story about working for Merrill Lynch on Sept. 11 in a podcast hosted by Marc Maron. The comedian said he felt jostled when the tower next to him was struck and he escaped to the street, despite hearing loudspeaker messages urging people to stay put.
He said he walked to his home across the Brooklyn Bridge after rejecting a cab driver’s request for $500 to be driven there. He said his then-girlfriend, now his wife, also worked at the World Trade Center and for several hours didn’t know where she was until she walked in the door. She had been stuck in the subway and hadn’t made it to work, he said.
He was lying the whole time.
Comedy Central said Wednesday it is reevaluating what to do about Steve Rannazzisi’s planned stand-up special this weekend after the comic apologized for lying about working in New York’s World Trade Center when terrorists attacked on Sept. 11, 2001.
Rannazzisi said he didn’t know why he told the story, which he called “a mistake that I deeply regret and for which apologies may still not be enough.”
The comedian appears in the FXX series “The League.” One of his first Hollywood roles was on Ashton Kutcher’s MTV show, “Punk’d.” Sports fans may know him from a Buffalo Wild Wings commercial. The Comedy Central special titled, “Breaking Dad,” and said to feature stories about fatherhood, is scheduled for Saturday at 11 p.m. EDT.
“We just learned about his last night,” said Comedy Central spokesman Steve Albani. “We are very disappointed to hear about Steve’s misrepresentations and are currently determining how we will move forward.”
His falsehood was first reported in a story published Wednesday in The New York Times.
Rannazzisi said in a statement that he was in New York City on Sept. 11 but was working in midtown, and that he began telling the story after moving to Los Angeles.
“I don’t know why I said this,” he said. “This was inexcusable. I am truly, truly sorry.”
He said he wished that subsequent silence could erase a story told out of immaturity.
“It only made me more ashamed,” he said. “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.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story
it is no supprise coming from californica, they have a major problem with anything resembling the truth. during and right after ww2 hollywood had some real class acts almost all of the actors were vet’s. some were highly decorated heroes. now all we have are a bunch of over-paid marxist puppets willing to sell-out their country for a few laughs. after all look at hanoi-jane their hero or nancy pelousy.\\\\\\\\\\they must have to be brain-dead just to live there…
For one who can neither spell nor write, and who is, as well, an obvious fan of the military industrial complex, which takes our youth and misrepresents to them that they are “fighting for freedom and their country”, who, when they fight, are injured emotionally as well as physically while enriching further the already bulging coffers of the 1%, from a concerned, caring, and knowledgeable Californian, YOU must be brain dead to expose your lack of knowledge.
In what world is that TV actor a “TV star”? Virtually no one has any idea who he is so using the term “TV star” is a typical sensationalistic attempt to generate interest so people will read the article Until he is known by most people by name or by sight, he is just an actor. It is just a misleading effort that will cause me to disbelieve most of the site’s article links starting now..Pathetic.
“from a concerned, caring, and knowledgeable Californian”? Really? Knowledge comes from facts and you failed to offer even one single fact to support your point. It would certainly appear that you aren’t as knowledgeable as you would have others believe.
Perhaps that is your actual point? That you have to tell us that you are “concerned, caring, and knowledgeable” because we wouldn’t otherwise be able to discern it without you needing to tell us about your grandiose self-aggrandizement.to exaggerate your own reputation? If you have to tell people these qualities about yourself, they must not be self-evident from your actual opinion. Your “knowledge” should present itself through its use, not by trying to convince us of its existence by drawing attention because you mention it.
Facts and actual knowledge are often missing when liberal, progressive, and socialistic opinions are spouted. Knowledge speaks for itself — but I’m sure you already knew that,
Cindy, Robert’s spelling and grammar aside, and some of it is sarcastic in case you missed the point, he is nevertheless correct in his evaluations. Not writing a full sentence or miss spelled words don’t change the TRUTH of what he said. Nice try at diverting from it though!
This comedian and Brian Williams must have been separated at birth! Two of a kind, what’s really funny here is that you got caught in the lie, roflmao!!!!!!!