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Mark Wahlberg claims he could have stopped 9/11 all on his own

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Updated on July 6, 2023

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On the big screen, Mark Wahlberg sometimes portrays an action star and reportedly believes he could be one in real life.

He appeared to suggest that he could have stopped the 9/11 disaster from happening. The actor told Men’s Health that he was initially going to be on board one of the planes that hit the twin buildings in 2001.

“If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did. 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.’”

You could be thinking, as I did, “this quote must have been taken out of context!” No, not at all.

It comes from a segment of the interview that discusses Wahlberg’s development from bad kid Marky Mark to a “really interesting man,” who has mellowed but yet maintained his toughness, as George Clooney puts it.

Erik Hedegaard, the interviewer, questioned Mark Wahlberg about a fight he had at a bar on time. The actor said, “When you put your hands on me, it’s a problem.” Hedegaard writes, “So he’s still got a lot of that tough guy in him. More tough guy: He was scheduled to take one of the Boston-to-Los Angeles flights that crashed into the World Trade Center, but canceled a few days prior. ‘If I was … [the rest of the offending quote.]’”

The 9/11 widow Deena Burnett-Bailey, the wife of one of the passengers who diverted aircraft 93 away from its intended destination of Washington, D.C., immediately criticized him.

“Does Mark Wahlberg have a pilot’s license?” she told TMZ. “Then I think hindsight is 20/20, and it’s insignificant to say what you would have done if you weren’t there.”

Furthermore, she referred to his remarks as “grandstanding,” “silly,” and “disrespectful.”

Wahlberg also quickly expressed regret. He apologized to the families of the 9/11 victims in a message to TMZ:

“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 apologize to the families of the victims that my answer came off as insensitive, it was certainly not my intention.”

Wahlberg has already discussed his near miss in public. He made similar remarks in 2006.

“We certainly would have tried to do something to fight,” he said. “I’ve had probably over 50 dreams about it.”