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Duplass-Aselton-3.jpg

Steve Rannazzisi's 'The League' Co-Stars Come To His Defense on Twitter

By Dustin Rowles | Social Media | September 16, 2015 |

By Dustin Rowles | Social Media | September 16, 2015 |


You hate it when people you like do stupid things, and it sucks even more when they bring other people you like into the fray, who are put in the awkward position of having to play both sides, in a way.

In this particular instance, Steve Rannazzisi fabricated a story about escaping the south tower on 9/11, a story that he attributed to his decision to pursue comedy. It’s not a good day to be Steve Rannazzisi, and if I were him, I’d get away from the Internet as quickly as possible.

But I am not him, and Steve is apparently keeping an eye on the chatter (it’s not good, Steve. Run away!). He responded when SNL’s Pete Davidson, whose father died on 9/11, joked about the fabricated story.

Rannazzisi’s since deleted response was, “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”

Davidson returned with:

But he was nice about it.

Meanwhile, Rannazzisi’s co-stars, Katie Aselton and Mark Duplass (who are married in real life) threw their support behind Steve, as well.

I like what Mark Duplass did there. Aselton may have overreached in insisting that we have perspective on this. It was a lie that was over a decade in the making, after all, and it wasn’t a lie like you make your resume to get a better job. He made up an elaborate story about nearly dying in a calamitous event that killed 3,000 people, and he persisted in telling the lie over the course of several years.

But then again, she’s right. He’s a comedian. We don’t have to love the guy as a person to appreciate his contributions to The League. We all do dumb things. Let’s hope that we never do anything this dumb.

His other co-stars, Jon Lajoie, Paul Scheer, and Nick Kroll have yet to weigh in.

Buffalo Wild Wings, however, has, and they “re-evaluating” their relationship with Rannazzisi as their spokesperson.