Mark Wahlberg made controversial 9/11 claim after narrowly missing first plane to hit World Trade Center
Warning: This article contains details which some readers may find distressing.
Mark Walhberg had to apologise after being called out for 'disrespectful' comments over what he thought he'd do if he'd been on one of the planes used in the 9/11 terror attacks.
The actor was supposed to be on one of the planes terrorists crashed into the Twin Towers 25 years ago, he'd been scheduled to fly on American Airlines Flight 11 which was the first plane to hit the World Trade Center.
He was supposed to be flying from Boston to Los Angeles, but at the last minute he and some friends decided they were going to travel to a film festival in Toronto instead which would mean getting a different flight.
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As such Wahlberg was not on the flight and survived, but years later when asked about it by Men's Journal he made some controversial comments he was criticised for.
"If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did," he claimed.
"There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, ‘Okay, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry.'”
In Wahlberg's version if he'd been on the plane he would have beaten the terrorists and landed the aircraft, and he was heavily criticised by the loved ones of those who died on 9/11 for what he said.
The widow of a man who was killed in the terrorist attack called Wahlberg 'disrespectful' and the actor later apologised for what he'd said.
In a formal apology he said: "To speculate about such a situation is ridiculous to begin with, and to suggest I would have done anything differently than the passengers on that plane was irresponsible.
"I deeply apologise to the families of the victims that my answer came off as insensitive. It was certainly not my intention."
It's been almost 25 years since 2,977 people were killed in the terrorist attack, and people have been revisiting footage of the harrowing attack to remind themselves of the terrifying scale of destruction.
Stefan Horlacher, a witness to Flight 11 hitting the World Trade Center, told LADbible he'd been working two blocks away when he felt 'vibrations' from the plane striking the nearby tower.
He described going outside and seeing people jumping to their deaths to escape the tower.
"We had the first jumpers, splashing on the plaza. Almost every 10 seconds, maybe 20 seconds, somebody right in front of you, kind of splashed on the plaza," he said.
"They always gave [me] that deep, dark noise... Then you knew it was more serious than just a tiny accident."
Topics: Mark Wahlberg, Celebrity, Terrorism
Joe Harker