I don’t know why I said this’: Comedian Steve Rannazzisi admits he lied about surviving the 9/11 attacks

No joke: This truth-twisting comedian might have just killed his career.
Days after the fourteenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, standup star Steve Rannazzisi admitted Wednesday he made up a tale about escaping from the World Trade Center.
“I was not in the World Trade Center that day,” his publicist said in a statement to The New York Times.
“I don’t know why I said this. This was inexcusable. I am truly, truly sorry.”
So far, the fabricating funnyman has already been slammed by one of his sponsors, Buffalo Wild Wings, which uses him for ad campaigns in sports games.
“We are disappointed to learn of Steve’s misrepresentations regarding the events of September 11, 2001,” the chain said in a statement to the Times. “We are currently re-evaluating our relationship with Steve pending a review of all the facts.”
Rannazzisi, 37, was set to appear in another line of ads for the chain during the N.F.L. season.
The comedian told Marc Maron ina 2009 interview he was working as an account manager at Merrill Lynch on the 54th floor of the south tower when the first plane struck. He claimed he ran to safety just minutes seeing a plane smash into his tower.
He told the story in vivid detail, saying he was worried about his girlfriend at the time, who also worked in one of the Towers, and said he had "falling dreams" after witnessing the horrors of the day.
He continued telling the story in interviews for years, despite claiming it was a tough topic for him, telling the Sklarbro Country podcast in 2011 he didn't want to seem like he was "cashing in or anything like that."