Comedy Central to Air Steve Rannazzisi's Special After He Admitted to Sept. 11 Lie
The special is set to air at 11 p.m.
— -- Comedy Central will air comedian and "The League" star Steve Rannazzisi's stand-up special tonight as planned, the network confirmed to ABC News, just days after he admitted to lying about escaping the World Trade Center on September 11.
The special "Steve Rannazzisi: Breaking Dad," is set to air at 11 p.m.
In past interviews, Rannazzisi said he was working as an account manager at Merrill Lynch in the South Tower when the first tower was hit. In an interview in 2009 with fellow comedian Marc Maron, he said he got to the streets before the second plane hit and before both towers collapsed.
"I worked on the 54th floor of the second tower," he told Maron, adding Port Authority told his co-workers "everything's being taken care of" and to remain where they were on that day. He said he didn't listen and left the building. Rannazzisi even described where he was standing when the second plane hit.
The New York Times reported inconsistencies in his story, including that he worked in midtown, Manhattan, and never worked for Merrill Lynch.
In a statement released by his publicist this week, Rannazzisi said: "As a young man, I made a mistake that I deeply regret and for which apologies may still not be enough.
"After I moved with my wife to Los Angeles from New York City in 2001 shortly after 9/11, I told people that I was in one of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. It wasn’t true.
"I was in Manhattan but working in a building in midtown and I was not at the Trade Center on that day. I don’t know why I said this. This was inexcusable. I am truly, truly sorry."
Rannazzisi added in his statement that for years, he wished that silence "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 is to the victims of 9/11 and to the people that love them -- and the people that love me -- that I ask for forgiveness," he added.
Comedy Central said in a statement this week, "We are very disappointed to hear about Steve's misrepresentations and are currently determining how we will move forward."