Spike Lee, Trayvon Martin Controversy: Director Retweets Wrong Address Of Man Accused Of Killing Teen (UPDATE)

Posted: 03/28/2012 3:31 pm Updated: 03/30/2012 9:43 am

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Spike Lee Trayvon Martin

An elderly Florida couple were reportedly forced to flee their home after director Spike Lee mistakenly tweeted their address.

According to THR, Lee thought he was sharing the whereabouts of George Zimmerman, the Florida man who shot and killed unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. Instead, he sent out the address of a William George Zimmerman, who is no relation.

According to The Smoking Gun, Elaine McCain and her husband -- parents of William George Zimmerman -- have been living in fear since Lee tweeted their address and “took flight last Friday."

As the McCains told TSG, “Maybe we should get a lawyer and send a cease and desist letter to Spike Lee.”

Lee's retweet originally came from Marcus Davonne Higgins, who also posted it to his Facebook wall with the message: “Feel free to reach out & touch him.” The address mix-up was apparently Higgins's, who also sent the tweet to 50 Cent, LeBron James and Will Smith, although only Lee retweeted. After Lee shared the erroneous address with his 248,000 followers, several hostile tweets followed that suggested someone go to Zimmerman's house and seek revenge for Martin's death.

Lee's office told THR that the director is unavailable to comment.

UPDATE: Spike Lee has apologized for retweeting the address. "I Deeply Apologize To The McClain Family For Retweeting Their Address. It Was A Mistake. Please Leave The McClain's In Peace."

UPDATE 2: Spike Lee has reached a settlement with the McClain family.

[via THR]

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An elderly Florida couple were reportedly forced to flee their home after director Spike Lee mistakenly tweeted their address. According to THR, Lee thought he was sharing the whereabouts of Geor...
An elderly Florida couple were reportedly forced to flee their home after director Spike Lee mistakenly tweeted their address. According to THR, Lee thought he was sharing the whereabouts of Geor...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
peccavione
38 Fans
05:29 PM on 04/04/2012
Guess Spike was more concerned with starting a riot than making sure his tweet address was correct. Shouldn't he be held liable for such an act against another person, innocent or not, it shouldn't be HIS right to give information out about anyone. Spike needs to be jailed.
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ConsiderChange
2 Fans
04:54 AM on 04/02/2012
It's gone political now - the unfortunate incident will definitely influence more individuals to go to the polls (vote the people out that are not in agreement of their opinions in FL)....
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Stetino
0 Fans
01:00 PM on 03/31/2012
I wonder if Obama will give back the 1.6 million in monies raised by Spike Lee to help with his re election campaign, or the high tops that was also a gift. Spike Lee tweeted address which he thought to be Zimmerman so people could find him. Why? Nothing good was going to happen. This is Obamas buddy( our president) If this was reversed, there would be public outcry to return money. But as usual media sweeps it under the carpet. When do people that are not black get to fight back without being called racist. I am an American who is sick and tired of being held hostage by black America, where are my rights. This has gone far beyond Trayvon Martin. Al Sharpton & Jesse Jackson have stated there will be civil unrest if they don't get what they want. Why are we allowing these racist to make terrorist threats against the USA. I hope if there is unrest, deaths, destruction of property these racist are held accountable, and should be put in jail. Al Sharpton is employed by NBC, contact NBC let them know your disgust and they need to FIRE Al Sharpton.
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Stetino
0 Fans
12:34 PM on 03/31/2012
V
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Stetino
0 Fans
12:32 PM on 03/31/2012
C
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isgirl98584
71 Fans
07:49 PM on 03/30/2012
I don't think we will ever know what really happened that night. George will tell his side of the story and we won't know whether he is telling the truth or not. Trayvon isn't here to dispute anything Z-man says. Alot of the things George's brother said on Piers Morgan last night didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. But you can't blame his brother for standing up for him. His brother said Trayvon tried to grab the gun, but who is to say? Maybe George was trying to pull the gun from his waistband (under a jacket) and then a fight ensued over the gun and Trayvon got the worst end of it all.
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dibo419
2 Fans
05:41 PM on 03/30/2012
How sad this whole episode is...for all involved. Although it appears the use of force in this case was over the top, Mr. Zimmerman has family that love him just as much as Trayvon Martin and is innocent until proven guilty. Celebrities and politicians should use the media to calm the masses instead of inciting riotous behavior. IF some easily influenced or fame-hungry person decided to take justice into his own hands, or wish to collect the $M bounty posted by the New Black Panthers, and murdered these poor innocent folks, would everone cry out for Mr. Lee's head on a stick???? In the old America, Mr. Zimmerman would be innocent until proven guilty--now vigilantism is being spouted by the same celebrities that cry out against bullies. How confusing! Join me in watching the decline of free western democratic civilization...
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Soonergrl
7 Fans
05:20 PM on 03/30/2012
I won't be spending another dime of my money on Spike Lee's movies.
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tvr1979
8 Fans
05:16 PM on 03/30/2012
No difference than the stupid,out of control, right wing in this country. Someone please help us!
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LXIX WITHU
VERITAS
322 Fans
05:16 PM on 03/30/2012
Why would he apologize? They are white, aren't they? Spike Lee blames all white folks anyway, so one address is as good as another.
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ddoughty
97 Fans
05:09 PM on 03/30/2012
So Spike commits a racist act, intended to expose someone to great bodily hard, but messes that up and apologizes and everyone is supposed to FORGIVE HIM and FORGET IT?
No WAY!
How about forgiving Rush, and Imus, and others who make remarks that are not actually intended to HARM others? They were either joking or expressing their own feelings and outrage, but NEVER did they intend for the focus of their comments to be HARMED. Spike DID!
What Spike did was 10 times worse, and yet there is little outrage... Go figure.....
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ladyjayne47
9 Fans
01:56 PM on 04/06/2012
EXACTLY !!! There really is s double standard in this country when it comes to race.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Josh Desmond
23 Fans
03:28 PM on 04/13/2012
Rush and Imus are doing fine.
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Grandama T
11 Fans
05:07 PM on 03/30/2012
My question is why would he post any address, even if it was the right one, full well knowing no good would come of it? Let the judicial system in Florida do its job and stop trying this case in the media. Let's worry about making all Americans safer to walk the streets, follow Dr. King's lead. Let's focus in on what actually happened that night and right now only two people know and one is in heaven.
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killowatt
16 Fans
04:47 PM on 03/30/2012
This man is just as bad as Jesse Jackson and that Rev. Sharptin or whatever his name is. If it wasn't for racism they would not have anything to do but get a a real job.
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LXIX WITHU
VERITAS
322 Fans
05:18 PM on 03/30/2012
Absolutely! If Al or Jesse had been born white they would be pushing around shopping carts and living under bridges.
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troutbumaz
1 Fans
04:39 PM on 03/30/2012
Mr. Lee has once again shot off his mouth before investigating the facts. This time, truly endangering the lives of innocent people. He is as prejudiced as anyone in the KKK or other white supremacist groups, with the exception that he couches his prejucide under the guise of "informing" his public. I wouldn't trust him on a bet!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Batjak
Seeking Truth,Justice and the American Way
509 Fans
04:31 PM on 03/30/2012
Black Leaders today, admired the Rev. Martin Luther King, too bad they dont follow his
example.
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