Spike Lee is Re-Editing His 9/11 Doc After Facing Backlash for Including Conspiracy Theorists

The first episode of the new four-part documentary from Spike Lee is streaming now via HBO Max.

Spike Lee is recalibrating an episode of his new documentary that was criticized for elevating conspiracy theories about 9/11.

According to The New York Times, the Do The Right Thing director has recalled the final episode of NYC Epicenters: 9/11 → 2021 ½. The move arrives just a few days after he revealed himself to be a truther in an interview with the publication. "I got questions," Lee confessed in a profile published earlier this week after being pressed about his inclusion of testimonies from the conspiracy group, Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth. "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. But people going to make up their own mind. My approach is put the information in the movie and let people decide for themselves. I respect the intelligence of the audience," Lee explained.

The backlash against the director's decision to spotlight fellow truthers was fairly immediate. As the Times points out, critics who received press access to the full run of the series claimed the director effectively substantiated long-debunked 9/11 theories by presenting them alongside those who actually conducted investigations into the attack. The timing was also particularly harsh, as the final episode, conspiracy theories and all, was slated to air on the 20th-anniversary of the attack. It's unclear how the episode is being handled now, but the first part of the doc premiered with a two-hour opener on Sunday, August 22nd via HBO Max.

Watch the trailer for Spike Lee's new docuseries, NYC Epicenters: 9/11 → 2021 ½, below and head over to HBO Max to see the first episode.