Tony Bennett Apologizes Again For 9/11 Remarks
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Tony Bennett has again addressed his controversial remarks made to Howard Stern regarding 9/11 attacks on America.
Bennett, 85, appeared on Howard Stern's Sirius XM show on Monday night to promote his upcoming release "Duets II." The conversation took a bizarre turn after Stern asked Bennett, a veteran of World War II, how the United States should deal with the terrorists who were responsible for destroying the World Trade Center.
"They flew the plane in but we caused it," Bennett said. "Because we were bombing them and they told us to stop." He also asked Stern, "Are we the terrorists or are they the terrorists? Two wrongs don't make a right."
Bennett apologized for his remarks on his Facebook page.
Appearing on ABC's "The View," Bennett was asked about his comments. He produced a card and read from it.
"I am sorry if my statements suggested anything other than an expression of my love for my country, my hope for humanity and my desire for peace throughout the world," the singer said, echoing his statement on Facebook.
"Nobody loves America more than I do," Bennett said, reading from the card.
On his Facebook page, Bennett wrote "My life experience... made me a life-long humanist and pacifist, and reinforced my belief that violence begets violence and that war is the lowest form of human behavior."
That said, not everyone is pleased with the apology. On his Facebook page, some were critical.
"My brother died in one of those buildings, and frankly you are so off base in your views of who the terrorists are, I now question your patriotism," wrote Ron Bogdan of Lawrenceville, New Jersey.
"Nice statement by your publicist, however, we heard you loud and clear on the Stern program," wrote Brian Eades of Omaha, Neb. "You clearly equate U.S. actions with those of the terrorists and said the U.S. somehow caused 9/11. The 3,000 people that died that day were innocent people. They were murdered in cold blood. Nothing - no matter what you can point to in U.S. policy over the years - justifies what was done or somehow mitigates the tragedy."
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