HBO confirms 9/11 conspiracy theories have been edited out of Spike Lee's docuseries

"NYC Epicenters: 9/11—2021 ½" just got 30 minutes shorter.

The four-part HBO docuseries from director Spike Lee premiered Sunday, but Lee "has edited out the 9/11 truther elements" previously present in the finale, Variety's Diane Garrett confirmed Thursday.

Garrett provided more context:

The new runtime for the fourth and final episode of the docuseries, slated to air Sept. 11, will be around 30 minutes shorter, and “all the exchange and theories about how the towers collapsed” have been removed, according to an HBO spokesperson.

The original cut of the episode, which featured interviews with 9/11 truthers and members of the conspiracy group Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, was released in advance to media late last week. On Wednesday, as controversy swelled about the episode as well as comments that Lee made to the New York Times, the director announced that he was re-editing the episode.

Lee was asked by Reggie Ugwu why he wanted to include the conspiracy perspectives in the episodes during this wide-ranging interview for The New York Times.

"Because I still don’t ... I mean, I got questions," the Oscar-winning filmmaker responded. "And I hope that maybe the legacy of this documentary is that Congress holds a hearing, a congressional hearing about 9/11."

"You don't buy the official explanations?" Ugwu asked.

Lee doubled down: "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."

But then Lee posted Wednesday that he was "back in the editing room and looking at the eighth and final chapter" of the docuseries and asked people "to hold your judgment until you see the FINAL CUT," via The New York Times. 

"NYC Epicenters" is the product of over 200 interviews conducted by Lee with A-list New Yorkers as well as eyewitnesses, first responders, journalists, politicians and residents. Read the official synopsis here and watch the trailer below.