Blowback prompted the director to recut the final episode of the series.

Earlier in the week, HBO premiered NYC Epicenters 9/11-2021½ on HBO Max, an eight-part docuseries detailing the recent history of major events in New York, such as the Black Lives Matter protests and the COVID-19 pandemic, working backwards and eventually culminating in the events and legacy of the September 11th, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. The series, directed by famed director and New York resident Spike Lee, features testimony from over 200 New York residents on these various events. However, some of the interviews of the subject of the World Trade Center attacks drew major blowback from viewers.

A riveting four-part documentary chronicling the resilience of one of the greatest cities in the world. Told by NYC legend: Spike Lee.

NYC Epicenters 9/11 -> 2021½ premieres Sunday on @hbomax. pic.twitter.com/0IiXM2FCTg

— HBO (@HBO) August 21, 2021

The interviews in question were with members of the conspiracy theorist group Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, who deny the events of the attack occurred as known. The presence of the conspiracy theorist interviews drew major criticism from viewers and media members, prompting Lee to create an updated cut of the final episode. This cut is about 30 minutes shorter, as it has removed all interviews with the conspiracy theorists.

Spike Lee has edited his 9/11 documentary in response to criticism that part of it gave credence to discredited conspiracy theories about the attacks. https://t.co/viVTGCTH7C

— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 27, 2021

On Monday, immediately following the premier of the series, Lee said in an interview with the New York Times that he has his own doubts about the events of 9/11, and that he hopes “that maybe the legacy of this documentary is that Congress holds a hearing, a congressional hearing about 9/11.”