Steve Rannazzisi's Castmates React To His 9/11 Lie

The anniversary of September 11, 2001 means something different for everyone when it passes each year, but it's obvious that it's especially meaningful for those who were involved or knew someone who was a victim of the attacks. And for as long as he's been in the spotlight, comedian Steve Rannazzisi counted himself among those directly affected — until he made a surprising confession. On Sept. 16, Rannazzisi admitted that he lied about being in the World Trade Center on 9/11 as the buildings were attacked, a story he's been telling for years. As The League actor's account goes, he was working at Merrill Lynch in the south tower when the first plane hit the north tower, and was able to escape his building before it fell.

As it turns out, none of this was true. After he was questioned for his story — which he's always relayed in huge detail — it's been revealed that not only was he not in either tower that day, but he also did not work for Merrill Lynch. In light of this, just days before his Breaking Dad comedy special airs on Comedy Central, Rannazzisi decided to come clean about his lies, issuing a statement along with an apology.

Obviously, the knee jerk reaction to this kind of thing is shock. How could someone lie about something like that? It's a pretty despicable things to do. But his co-stars from The League have opted to take a different path: forgiveness and understanding. Both Mark Duplass and his wife, Katie Aselton, have taken to Twitter to defend Rannazzisi, and while they both acknowledge that he made a huge mistake, they don't think this mistake should define him.

Soon after the 37-year-old's confession went public, Duplass posted this:

Aselton added:

Of course, Duplass and Aselton have the benefit of working with and knowing the actor personally. If this confession was coming from a close friend, it'd be easier to forgive and not let it overshadow all of his good qualities, but for those of us who only know Rannazzisi as a comedian, it's easier to write him off. Time will tell if any of his other co-stars speak out about his confession.