Spike Lee would like for you to please withhold judgment until you’ve seen the finished product.
The acclaimed director is apparently backtracking on the final cut of his upcoming HBO documentary series, “New York Epicenters: 9/11-2021½,” after he was slammed for including remarks from conspiracy theorists.
“I’m Back In The Editing Room And Looking At The Eighth And Final Chapter Of NYC EPICENTERS 9/11➔2021½,” Lee said in a Wednesday statement, The Wrap reported. “I Respectfully Ask You To Hold Your Judgement Until You See The FINAL CUT. I Thank You, Spike Lee.”
“Do the Right Thing” director Lee, 64, faced backlash following a Monday New York Times interview in which he admitted he doesn’t buy into “official explanations” of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In the story, the Oscar-winning filmmaker defended the conspiracy theorists he gives a platform to in his upcoming, four-part HBO documentary about 9/11.
“I mean, I got questions — and I hope that maybe the legacy of this documentary is that Congress holds a hearing, a congressional hearing about 9/11,” he told the Times, going on to rant about the notorious jet fuel can’t melt steel beams conspiracy theory.
“The amount of heat that it takes to make steel melt, that temperature’s not reached. And then the juxtaposition of the way Building 7 fell to the ground — when you put it next to other building collapses that were demolitions, it’s like you’re looking at the same thing,” Lee said, arguing that people will make up their own minds and his approach is to “put the information in the movie and let people decide for themselves. I respect the intelligence of the audience.”
Lee was specifically called out for featuring members of the conspiracy group Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, whose members have suggested that government officials were involved in the World Trade Center collapse. The Oscar winner’s project also includes interviews with Mayor Bill de Blasio, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Chuck Schumer and front-line workers.