Buffalo Wild Wings may cut ties with comedian over false 9/11 claims
Stephen Rannazzisi came clean on a fabricated story that he was in one of the towers the day of the attack, and sponsoring brands have come forward with statements.
But fabricating stories about the terrorist attacks of 9/11 are one thing that Americans (and brands) do not tolerate. Comedian Steve Rannazzisi, an ensemble cast member in the hit FX Networks show “The League,” is finding this out first hand.
For years now, Rannazzisi has been telling the harrowing tale of how he was working for Merrill Lynch on the 54th floor of the south tower on that fateful day.
“I was there, and then the first tower got hit, and we were jostled all over the place,” he told fellow comedian Marc Maron in a 2009 podcast. “I went downstairs, walked outside, saw all the pandemonium, and then about 5 or 6 minutes later, wsssh, bang…I called up to the office, and it was pandemonium.”
Rannazzisi used the story to explain why he left his job in Manhattan to pursue his dream of being an actor and comedian in Los Angeles.
The New York Times reports that the comedian never worked for Merrill Lynch, and that the company didn’t have offices in the Twin Towers. In fact, Rannazzisi was working in Midtown on 9/11.
Rannazzisi issued the following statement through his publicist when The Times asked him about it:
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