Mark Wahlberg quickly apologized Wednesday for claiming he would have subdued the 9/11 hijackers.
The “Contraband” star said that had he been on hijacked flight United 93 on Sept. 11, 2001, as originally scheduled, it wouldn’t have crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.
Wahlberg was scheduled to fly from New York to Boston on the morning of Sept. 11 on the flight that was hijacked by Al Qaeda terrorists. But he had a change of plans before the fateful date. He and several friends opted to charter a private flight to Toronto, Canada, a week ahead of schedule.
Wahlberg told the February issue of Men’s Journal that history may have been very different if he had stuck to his original plans. He believes that events would have unfolded as if out of an action movie.
“If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did,” Wahlberg tells the magazine. “There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, ‘OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry.'”
It’s a stronger, more idealized version of what Wahlberg said in 2006, when he revealed that he was haunted by dreams of 9/11.
“We certainly would have tried to do something to fight,” he said. “I’ve had probably over 50 dreams about it.”
Within hours of the interview being made public, Wahlberg issued an apology.
“To speculate about such a situation is ridiculous to begin with,” he told TMZ.com. “I deeply apologize to the families of the victims that my answer came off as insensitive, it was certainly not my intention.”
Family members of 9/11 victims, especially those aboard United 93, did not take Wahlberg’s comments lightly.
Deena Burnett-Bailey, whose husband Thomas Burnett was among the group who rushed the cockpit and prevented the terrorists from hitting their intended target, has already spoken to TMZ.
“Does Mark Wahlberg have a pilot’s license? Then I think hindsight is 20/20 and it’s insignificant to say what you would have done if you weren’t there,” she says. “The plan for Flight 93 was foiled by heroes. For him to speculate that his presence on board could have stopped everything is silly and disrespectful. Sounds like someone is grandstanding.”