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[backflip10019]

From the New York Times:

When the comedian Steve Rannazzisi has explained his success, which includes seven seasons starring on a popular TV show, “The League,” and a one-hour special this Saturday on Comedy Central, he has frequently attributed it to decisions he made after narrowly escaping the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

In elaborate detail, Mr. Rannazzisi, 37, has described working at Merrill Lynch’s offices on the 54th floor of the south tower when the first plane struck the north tower.

“I was there and then the first tower got hit and we were like jostled all over the place,” he told an interviewer in 2009.

He fled to the street just minutes before another plane slammed into his building, he said, and decided that very day that life was too precious to waste opportunities. So he abandoned his New York desk job to pursue a career as an entertainer in Los Angeles.

Nonetheless, he said, he remained affected by his memories of that day.

“I still have dreams of like, you know, those falling dreams,” he told the interviewer.

Confronted this week, though, with evidence that undermined his account, Mr. Rannazzisi, after a day of deliberation, acknowledged on Tuesday that his account was fiction. Actually, he had been working in Midtown that day, and not for Merrill Lynch, which has no record of his employment and had no offices in either tower.

“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.”

His interviews, though, several of which remain posted on the Internet, show that a decade after the Sept. 11 attacks, Mr. Rannazzisi was still relating a harrowing experience. In a 2011 interview on the podcast “Sklarbro Country,” Mr. Rannazzisi said that he had gotten a good severance package from Merrill Lynch and that he clearly understood that Sept. 11 was a sensitive topic. “I’ve spoken about it before,” he said. “I just don’t ever want to feel like, anyone, I am cashing in or anything like that.”

As for his Sept. 11 account, Mr. Rannazzisi gave a detailed version to the comedian Marc Maron on his podcast in December 2009, saying he had worked as an account manager for Merrill for a year and a half and had been watching from the street when the second plane struck.

“I couldn’t tell exactly where it went in,” Mr. Rannazzisi said. “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.’ ”

Mr. Rannazzisi had noted in some interviews that his girlfriend also worked in the south tower on Sept. 11 on the 24th floor, but said that she had been delayed and never made it to the building. (Actually, Mr. Rannazzisi got that wrong as well. Mr. Labov said on Tuesday that Mrs. Rannazzisi was scheduled to work as a temp on Sept. 11, but in the World Financial Center, nearby, not in the south tower.) When they both got home, he said on the podcast, they decided they would move to Los Angeles.

More here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/17/a...n-who-told-of-9-11-escape-admits-he-lied.html

Absolutely despicable. I've always liked him on The League, but this really makes me think twice about the kind of person he is.

 

[Ghost]

wow can't believe he thought he'd get away with that.

 

[gutshot]

People lie about the dumbest things for the stupidest reasons some times.

 

[bigkrev]

Seems like something that was fine when he was a struggling actor/comedian (when no one is actually going to fact check and it leads to someone remembering you), but the fact that he was still telling this story in 2011 when The League was already a multi-season success is just baffling.

 

[TheBaldEmperor]

What a freaking dumb ass.

 

[SwiftDeath]

That's a big lie and an awful one at that

I can't understand how you could lie about something like that the first time but for years? I would've just started saying I didn't want to talk about it if people kept asking me about it and I was too weak to confess the truth.

 

[ThankYouDaletech]

Oh wow I'm so surprised that a human being would tell a despicable lie in an effort to find fame and money.

 

[Gonzalez]

So what? The Government has lied about its part in the 9/11 terror attacks. WAKE UP SHEEPLE!!!

 

[March of the Crabs]

I mean... good on him for coming clean, but what the hell?

 

[Slayven]

Dude always looked extra douchey to me.

 

[Duress]

Here come the fear boners.

 

[valkillmore]

I have never heard of this guy before but now I know him as the 9/11 liar.

 

[snacknuts]

As an Auschwitz survivor, I am disgusted that someone would lie about going through that kind of horrific tragedy for personal gain.

 

[Sanjuro]

Time to share a condo with Brian Williams.

 

[Squalor]

Yea, I was there.

I never saw him among the fleeing tens of thousands.

He deserves a lifelong Sacko.

 

[Bladenic]

That's sad, I love him on The League.

Also if you're gonna lie, why set yourself up for obvious failure? All he had to do is say "yeah I was there and in the building and it was terrifying" but instead he gave explicit details that could be checked. Jeez man

 

[disillusion386]

McAsterisk

 

[meltingparappa]

Imagine how much whiskey his publicist had to down before trying to draft a response.

 

[TheAbsolution]

That's just wrong dude.
And for what?

And how did he think he would get away with it especially with all of the wealth of information on what companies were in each tower.
Stupid move.

 

[Slayven]

He wasn't going to have much of a career after the league, but man his next show will be on Reelz after this

 

[old manatee]

He should have made a blood pact with Brian Williams to corroborate each others embarrassing bullshit.

 

[Squalor]

Imagine how much whiskey his publicist had to down before trying to draft a response.

No way his publicist was sober while reading it, either.

This is the PR nightmare of all PR nightmares.

He wasn't going to have much of a career after the league, but man his next show will be on Reelz after this

Kroll, Duplass, and Aselton are sitting pretty, though.

 

[lednerg]

Yikes. There's no coming back from that, especially not in the comedy community, who will all be ripping him to shreds. What an asshole.

 

[JDSN]

I mean... good on him for coming clean, but what the hell?

He got caught.

 

[old manatee]

He should have made a blood pact with Brian Williams to corroborate each others embarrassing bullshit.

and decided that very day that life was too precious to waste opportunities. So he abandoned his New York desk job to pursue a career as an entertainer in Los Angeles.

Hope he enjoyed it while it lasted.

 

[LyleLanley]

This is such a weird thing to lie about. I'm sure Buffalo Wild Wings is excited about this development.

 

[Slayven]

No way his publicist was sober while reading it, either.

This is the PR nightmare of all PR nightmares.

Kroll, Duplass, and Aselton are sitting pretty, though.

Well Kroll has serious connections, but I was thinking them and the dude that plays taco can only go one to bigger and better things.

 

[Squalor]

9/16 is his personal 9/11.

Well Kroll has serious connections, but I was thinking them and the dude that plays taco can only go one to bigger and better things.

This show is really the most minor part of Duplass's career. He still has his fantastic HBO show, and he's always going to make movies. Jon Lajoie (Taco) might have something left in the tank, but I don't know.

Kroll has a billionaire family behind him, and he's dating Amy Poehler. He's set, haha.

 

[Ray Wonder]

I used to lie and tell my friends that I fought of a Rottweiler that was chasing me.
I actually jumped in a truck and hid
I wasn't really chased by a Rottweiler

 

[jon bones]

Brian NO!!!!

 

[d9b]

As a WW1 veteran I too am disappoint in him.

 

[Sanjuro]

This is the PR nightmare of all PR nightmares.

I disagree. This seems like a very specifically timed reveal.

He is releasing this statement on the night his show goes head-to-head with the season premiere of South Park, and his special is slated for later in the week.

 

[Amory]

I feel like a lot of people lie about having a more significant connection to 9/11 than they actually had. I've met at least a couple people who claim that they or someone in their family were "supposed to be on one of the planes" and there are a few celebrities who also make that claim

just incredibly stupid on his part. whatever benefit he's gotten over the years wasn't worth the risk of being exposed as a liar

 

[Slayven]

9/16 is his personal 9/11.
This show is really the most minor part of Duplass's career. He still has his fantastic HBO show, and he's always going to make movies. Jon Lajoie (Taco) might have something left in the tank, but I don't know.

Kroll has a billionaire family behind him, and he's dating Amy Poehler. He's set, haha.

If that dude from workaholics gets spots in any and everything, surely Lajoie who is funnier can do at least that.

 

[ThankYouDaletech]

No way his publicist was sober while reading it, either.

This is the PR nightmare of all PR nightmares.

Kroll, Duplass, and Aselton are sitting pretty, though.

Kroll has a billionaire daddy so he'll have shit handed to him forever, Duplass is perfect for a certain kind of typecasting.

 

[Mighty Chin]

People lie about the dumbest things for the stupidest reasons some times.

Pretty much, I'm not going to persecute the guy over it though. He was wrong though.

Much like the Brian Williams incident.

 

[BigAT]

Actually, he had been working in Midtown that day, and not for Merrill Lynch, which has no record of his employment and had no offices in either tower.

Dude couldn't even pick a company to lie about that actually had offices in the towers? Come on, that's just lazy.

How did it take ten years for people to figure this asshole out?

 

[NerdEyeBlind]

I had no idea he had claimed to have survived 9/11, but still an a-hole move

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

I don't know who this guy is or anything about him other than he lied about escaping death on 9/11.

So there's that.

 

[Amory]

in a way it has to be kind of a relief to be found out.

whenever he's been asked about it he had to be thinking "oh man...someday they're going to find out this is bullshit and it's gonna be a bad day"

 

[Squalor]

Kroll has a billionaire daddy so he'll have shit handed to him forever, Duplass is perfect for a certain kind of typecasting.

Duplass has been making movies for over a dozen years.

He also has a fantastic HBO show. The League is his most minor of works.

If that dude from workaholics gets spots in any and everything, surely Lajoie who is funnier can do at least that.

I don't know which of the three unfunny guys from Workaholics you are referring to, but none of them are getting starring roles.

Sure, Lajoie could bounce around minor gigs until the end of time. But even that would be a step down from his co-starring role on The League.

 

[Ray Wonder]

Dude couldn't even pick a company to lie about that actually had offices in the towers? Come on, that's just lazy.

How did it take ten years for people to figure this asshole out?

Probably due to this:

I had no idea he had claimed to have survived 9/11, but still an a-hole move

 

[LyleLanley]

Dude couldn't even pick a company to lie about that actually had offices in the towers? Come on, that's just lazy.

How did it take ten years for people to figure this asshole out?

I imagine most people wouldn't bother to fact check something like that.

 

[Kurita]

That's kinda fucked up but that doesn't really make me mad either.

 

[Mighty Chin]

I imagine most people wouldn't bother to fact check something like that.

Probably a 9/11 Truther

 

[Bladenic]

9/16 is his personal 9/11.
This show is really the most minor part of Duplass's career. He still has his fantastic HBO show, and he's always going to make movies. Jon Lajoie (Taco) might have something left in the tank, but I don't know.

Kroll has a billionaire family behind him, and he's dating Amy Poehler. He's set, haha.

Eh, The League was the first (I think) project that Mark Duplass was on to get mainstream success and attention.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

OK? Seems scummy but I don't really care if the guy makes me laugh and he's not actively harming anyone. I've heard many BS 9/11 stories.

And I will as I did with Brian Williams, maintain that lies can become truths to people. Memory even entirely fictional accounts can become real.

Though I wonder how this original story started and if it was an active lie on his part.

 

[Brianimaniac]

This thread reminded me that Stormwatch: Team Achilles was a thing.

 

[E the Shaggy]

Sounds like he's asking for a visit from the Bubumb Man in his Bubumb Van with his bag of equipmunk.

 

[NYCmetsfan]

Eh, The League was the first (I think) project that Mark Duplass was on to get mainstream success and attention.

Yeah. Mumblecore isn't very big outside film buffs.