Mark Wahlberg Takes Controversial 9/11 Stance; Subsequently Apologizes For Comments

UPDATED: Originally scheduled to be on one of the ill-fated flights that crashed into the World Trade Center in 2001, the actor says "it wouldn’t have went down like it did" had he been onboard.
Mark Wahlberg has made some rather bold statements about the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Speaking with Men's Health about how he was originally scheduled to be onboard one of the flights that crashed into the twin towers in 2001, he seemed to say he could have prevented the tragedy from happening.
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“If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did," he said. "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.’”
Instant reaction to the article on was not favorable, with 9/11 widow Deena Burnett-Bailey, wife of one of the passengers who prevented flight 93 from reaching its Washington, D.C., target, calling him out.
"Does Mark Wahlberg have a pilot's license?" she said to TMZ. "Then I think hindsight is 20/20, and it's insignificant to say what you would have done if you weren't there."
She went on to call his comments "grandstanding," "silly" and "disrespectful."
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For his part, the 40-year-old actor has apologized.
"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," he said in a statement. "I deeply apologize to the families of the victims that my answer came off as insensitive, it was certainly not my intention."
This is not the first time Wahlberg has spoken out on his near miss. In 2006 he did make similar comments.
"We certainly would have tried to do something to fight," he said. "I've had probably over 50 dreams about it."
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