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On October 6, 2015, comedian Steve Rannazzisi told Howard Stern that his oft-repeated story of escaping the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, was false. Rannazzisi said he had been working in Midtown Manhattan, not in the South Tower. He apologized to people hurt by the lie and explained how, in his account, it began and became harder to correct.
What Rannazzisi had claimed—and what he admitted
Rannazzisi, an actor and comedian associated with the television series The League, had said he was working for Merrill Lynch on the 54th floor of the World Trade Center’s South Tower on September 11, 2001. His version was that he escaped before the second plane hit.
In September 2015, Rannazzisi publicly acknowledged that the story was untrue. He later told Stern that he had been working in Midtown Manhattan and had not been at the World Trade Center. ABC News reported that Merrill Lynch had no record of employing him. The false personal account did not change the historical facts of the attacks; the interview concerned Rannazzisi’s own claim and the harm he said it caused.
Why he said the lie began
Rannazzisi told Stern that the story started after he moved to Los Angeles. He said people asked whether he was from New York and whether he had been there on September 11, and that he wanted to fit in and be liked. He described the lie as unplanned: “It wasn’t calculated.”
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As he explained it, once the first false answer was out, correcting it felt more difficult. That is Rannazzisi’s account of his motives and choices, not an independently established explanation or diagnosis. ABC News also reported his account that the story began in comedy-club conversations as he tried to fit in.
What happened in the Howard Stern interview
The October 6 appearance gave Rannazzisi an opportunity to discuss when the story began, how it persisted, and its effects on his family and career. The interview was tense: The Washington Post reported that Stern told him, “I’m sure you’re nervous,” and described him as tense and appearing to choke up. Stern’s official account quoted Rannazzisi saying that the hurt and nervousness listeners heard reflected his awareness that his conduct had been terrible; those descriptions are observations of the interview, not clinical findings.
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His apology and acknowledgment of harm
Rannazzisi apologized to people affected by the attacks and acknowledged that his story had hurt them. The Stern show’s account quotes him saying: “I know that I hurt a lot of people — people that lost people, people that helped people survive.” His apology recognized the impact on bereaved people and those who helped survivors; it did not undo the years in which he had repeated the false account.
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The key dates
- September 16, 2015: ABC News reported Rannazzisi’s public admission that his account of escaping the attacks was false.
- October 6, 2015: He discussed the lie and apologized during his appearance on The Howard Stern Show.
- October 7, 2015: The Washington Post published its account of the interview, describing it as a 40-minute conversation.
Contemporaneous coverage
- The Howard Stern Show: “Exclusive: Steve Rannazzisi Comes Clean About 9/11 Lie: ‘I Hurt A Lot of People’” (October 6, 2015)
- The Howard Stern Show: “Steve Rannazzisi Confronts 9/11 Lie” (October 6, 2015)
- ABC News: “Comedian Steve Rannazzisi Admits He Lied About Escaping 9/11 Attacks” (September 16, 2015)
- ABC News: “Steve Rannazzisi Explains Why He Lied About 9/11” (October 6, 2015)
- The Washington Post: “Howard Stern grills Steve Rannazzisi about Sept. 11 lies in excruciating 40-minute interview” (October 7, 2015)
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