Director Spike Lee is being sued by an elderly Florida couple whose address he tweeted in the weeks after George Zimmerman shot teen Trayvon Martin.
In March 2012, less than a month after Martin was shot and killed by Zimmerman, the Do The Right Thing director retweeted an address sent out by a Los Angeles man. He told everyone to repost it and many did, but it turned out that the address was really the home of David and Elaine McClain, both in their 70s. The two have no connection with Zimmerman.
After the mistake was widely publicized, Lee tweeted an apology, “Deeply Apologize To The McClain Family For Retweeting Their Address.It Was A Mistake.Please Leave The McClain's In Peace.Justice In Court.” Then, he reached a settlement with the couple.
According to Retuers, the settlement was for $10,000, according to court documents. But, the McClains have since decided that this was not enough and this fall, Elaine filed a lawsuit against Lee. She claimed that he promoted “a dangerous mob mentality” when he tweeted their address.
The couple said that they are still receiving death threats and haven’t been able to sell their home.
Entertainment Weekly reports that the couple are looking for damages “in excess of … $15,000,” plus attorney and court costs.
A rep for Lee, whose new film Oldboy hits theaters later this month, has not commented on the lawsuit.
