Spike Lee sued by elderly Florida couple over erroneous George Zimmerman address tweet
'Oldboy' director faces lawsuit valued at $1.2 million, according to report, over angry tweet that he sent to followers in wake of Trayvon Martin shooting.
Comments (13)By Ethan Sacks / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, November 11, 2013, 4:02 PM
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Spike Lee is facing a lawsuit from a Sanford, Fla., couple over his now infamous tweet in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin murder.
Spike Lee has been cast as a villain in a lawsuit filed by an elderly Florida couple who are accusing the "Oldboy" director of putting their lives in danger with an irresponsible tweet.
In the wake of the Feb. 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, Lee posted what he thought was the address of the accused shooter which he obtained from one of his Twitter followers. The Sanford, Fla., home in question, however, turned out to belong to Elaine and David McClain, who had nothing to do with the crime.
"My youngest son, his last name is Zimmerman and his middle name is George," Elaine McClain told Orlando's WKMG TV.
RELATED: GEORGE ZIMMERMAN’S WIFE SAYS HE LEFT BULLET-RIDDLED BULL'S-EYE AS THREAT
"He definitely owes a big apology. All this is really scary and it's a shame. There's no reason they put our address out there without checking to see who lived there."
Actually, they're seeking more than just an apology.
"As the legal, proximate and direct result of Defendant's negligence, gross negligence, recklessness, conscious indifference, and/or willfulness, plaintiffs were required to temporarily relocate,” reads the court filing, which was posted on The Smoking Gun.
RELATED: SPIKE LEE HITS $1.25M KICKSTARTER GOAL TO FUND MOVIE
Lee had already reached out and apologized to the McClains before the suit and reached a $10,000 settlement agreement with the couple in March 2012.
But the McClains allege they've continued to receive hate mail, threatening email and an inflated media presence outside their home from people who didn't get the update that Lee's initial tweet pointed to the right address.
There was no dollar amount sought for the damages in the lawsuit, filed late last week in Florida Circuit Court, but The Smoking Gun reports that Lee's attorney estimates the lawsuit's value at $1.2 million.
RELATED: NYCC 2013: 'OLDBOY' REMAKE'S ENDING 'JUST AS PSYCHOLOGICALLY SCREWED UP'
Lee himself didn't avoid the subject in his interview on "Oprah's Next Chapter" Sunday night.
"I don't know what my intention was," Lee told Winfrey. "But angry is not a justification for stupidity.
"There's nothing I can say that can defend what I did. It was stupid."
In the wake of the Feb. 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, Lee posted what he thought was the address of the accused shooter which he obtained from one of his Twitter followers. The Sanford, Fla., home in question, however, turned out to belong to Elaine and David McClain, who had nothing to do with the crime.
"My youngest son, his last name is Zimmerman and his middle name is George," Elaine McClain told Orlando's WKMG TV.
RELATED: GEORGE ZIMMERMAN’S WIFE SAYS HE LEFT BULLET-RIDDLED BULL'S-EYE AS THREAT
"He definitely owes a big apology. All this is really scary and it's a shame. There's no reason they put our address out there without checking to see who lived there."
Joe Burbank/AP
Lee said he was too quick to send out the address because he was so angry over George Zimmerman’s fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin.
"As the legal, proximate and direct result of Defendant's negligence, gross negligence, recklessness, conscious indifference, and/or willfulness, plaintiffs were required to temporarily relocate,” reads the court filing, which was posted on The Smoking Gun.
RELATED: SPIKE LEE HITS $1.25M KICKSTARTER GOAL TO FUND MOVIE
Lee had already reached out and apologized to the McClains before the suit and reached a $10,000 settlement agreement with the couple in March 2012.
But the McClains allege they've continued to receive hate mail, threatening email and an inflated media presence outside their home from people who didn't get the update that Lee's initial tweet pointed to the right address.
WKMG Local 6
Elaine and David McClain are suing Spike Lee for accidentally publishing their address to Twitter instead of the real George Zimmerman's.
RELATED: NYCC 2013: 'OLDBOY' REMAKE'S ENDING 'JUST AS PSYCHOLOGICALLY SCREWED UP'
Lee himself didn't avoid the subject in his interview on "Oprah's Next Chapter" Sunday night.
"I don't know what my intention was," Lee told Winfrey. "But angry is not a justification for stupidity.
"There's nothing I can say that can defend what I did. It was stupid."
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13 Comments
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3 hours ago
Dennis Smith
Spike is no better than Antiq's dad.
2 hours ago
MatuArt
your not better than caca
1 hour ago
Miramardennis
Very mature word !
52 minutes ago
Sean
Good for them. Spike was completely out of line for doing what he did and $1.2 million is a drop in the bucket for him. Write the check and let everyone move on.
3 hours ago
dickdutsie
Spike and Nasone are the same person.
3 hours ago
Yackletoast2
He got off easy but only to the ignorance of the couple accepting $10,000.
2 hours ago
MatuArt
o so your calling them stupid, your a good firend to have
1 hour ago
Anonymous
YES, they ARE stupid. Along with that $10,000 was an agreement that they would not sue him, but a greedy lawyer has convinced them that they can sue for more money. And now this lawyer will take the rest of the $10,000 and the case will be thrown out of court. Next time old folks don't be so greedy.
46 minutes ago
Joe Truth
If only the punitive damages could put this talentless clown into the poor house. It would be poetic justice if this racist had to spend the rest of his life serving Italians and Hispanics at McDonald's.
46 minutes ago
jack54
Spike, 10K ain't going to make this go away....you should have never tweeted anyone's address no matter how upset you were...At least you admit you did wrong but I think the McCains have an excellent case of negligence against you and I hope they are successful. You put peoples lives in danger.
52 minutes ago
ed george
hopefully, spike will produce another movie. perhaps then, we can all sue him. hahaha!!!
1 hour ago
Miramardennis
Spike Lee could not wait to jump into the fray ! Make pay for 24/7 security at the victims residence.
58 minutes ago
norman west
if he had an agreement for less, the case is done.
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