Comedian Steve Rannazzisi said his infamous lie about surviving 9/11 started as a throwaway line that he didn't correct because he wanted people to like him.
In his first public appearance since admitting to a years-long fabrication about escaping from the Twin Towers, the 37-year-old star of "The League" told Howard Stern on Tuesday that his deception "wasn't calculated at all." Rather, an inexplicable lie he uttered to fellow open mic comics at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles — where he moved immediately after 9/11 — snowballed into years of rehashing the falsities on several podcasts, radio and television interviews.
"You have like, 15 seconds, I think, to kind of go, 'Wait, hold on, stop, I'm sorry. That's not true,'" he said. "And if you pass that 15 seconds … now I have to be the guy who was very strange and weird and just said I lied about 9/11."
The lie stemmed from a desire to be accepted by his new comedic peers on the West Coast, Rannazzisi told Stern.
"I kind of was like, 'Maybe now people will not be as mean to me or not make as many jokes about me," he said.
"I truly in all of my heart wish that I had that voice that I feel like I have now. That said, 'Hey man, take a breath. Relax. People are going to like you … Don't need to lie about that; take that back.'"
Rannazzisi had long claimed to have escaped from his Merrill Lynch office on the 54th floor of the south tower, attributing his decision to pursue comedy to the harrowing experience. In fact, he was working in Midtown that day and had no association with the investment firm.
His wife, who had worked in the World Financial Center downtown, had no choice but to go along with the lies, he told Stern.
The actor owned up to his fibs when confronted by the New York Times, releasing a contrite statement that the newspaper published Sept. 16, as well as a string of disjointed tweets.
Buffalo Wild Wings pulled its TV spots featuring Rannazzisi in the aftermath. Following a period of deliberation, Comedy Central decided to move forward with airing his "Breaking Dad" special on Sept. 19.
The comedian told Stern that his family, friends and "League" co-stars have been forgiving. His two young children are unaware, he said, but he plans to explain his actions to them someday.
"If I was your kid, when you have to discipline them and you say, 'Hey, go clean your room,' and they're going to go, 'Hey, you lied about 9/11 — go f--- yourself!'" Stern said.
Rannazzisi, who went radio silent after his Sept. 16 confession, said he had wanted to come on "The Howard Stern Show" because its host and audience are "personified with New York."
"Those are the people that truly, in my heart, I feel awful," he told Stern. "That my dumb mistake created a story that just hit a wound that should never have been touched."
Source : http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/steve-rannazzisi-talks-howard-stern-9-11-lie-article-1.2387330
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