Steve Rannazzisi, of FX's 'The League,' Admits of Elaborate Lie About 9/11 Escape

By Grainger Heavensbee | Celebrity | September 16, 2015 |

By Grainger Heavensbee | Celebrity | September 16, 2015 |

In what sounds like a storyline straight out of The League, Steve Rannazzisi — who plays Kevin MacArthur on the FX series — admitted this week that he completely fabricated a story about escaping one of the Twin Towers on 9/11, a story that he has often sourced as his inspiration for leaving the business world and pursuing comedy.

According to an account he’s told on multiple occasions, Rannazzisi was working at Merrill Lynch on the 54th Floor of the south tower on 9/11. He said that he escaped onto the street right before the second plane hit and decided on that day to abandon the business world because “life is too precious” and go into comedy.

He’s even told stories about having recurring dreams about falling from the towers.

The only thing is: That never happened. Rannazzisi now admits it was all a lie, after evidence came to light contradicting his story.

“I was not at the Trade Center on that day,” he said in a statement provided by his publicist to the New York Times. “I don’t know why I said this. This was inexcusable. I am truly, truly sorry.

“For many years, more than anything,” he said, “I have wished that, with silence, I could somehow erase a story told by an immature young man. It only made me more ashamed. How could I tell my children to be honest when I hadn’t come clean about this?”

“It was profoundly disrespectful to those who perished and those who lost loved ones,” he said. “The stupidity and guilt I have felt for many years has not abated. It was an early taste of having a public persona, and I made a terrible mistake. All I can ask is for forgiveness.”

To make matters worse, he also involved his then girlfriend and now wife in the story, so she apparently has been lying along with him the whole time.

On his website, he also lied about which college he attended, although his publicist notes that it was an “oversight.”

Rannazzisi is currently on The League, which is finishing up its final season. He has a one-hour stand-up special scheduled to air on Comedy Central this weekend, and he is also a spokesman for Buffalo Wild Wings. It is unclear how this revelation will affect any of those relationships.

That’s disappointing, and really, something we’d expect from Taco, not Kevin.

Source: NYTimes