Famed director Spike Lee was forced to apologize after retweeting an incorrect tweet thought to reveal the address of George Zimmerman, who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
The Sanford, Fla. address Lee tweeted out to his more than 250,000 followers actually belongs to an elderly couple, David McClain, 72, and his 70-year-old wife Elaine, who subsequently received threats and hate mail directed at Zimmerman, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The negative attention, along with a few visits from reporters seeking Zimmerman, forced the bewildered couple to temporarily move into a hotel.
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The Smoking Gun originally traced the tweet back to a California man, who sent the erroneous address to other celebrities including 50 Cent, LeBron James and Will Smith last Friday.
Lee’s blunder sparked a backlash of criticism accusing him of provoking vigilante justice. Before apologizing, Lee responded to some of the dozens of attack tweets and said to one, “I want justice, not a lynch mob. Wake the hell up.”
The Oscar-winning director has since issued an apology to the couple, asking they be left alone.
[tweet https://twitter.com/SpikeLee/status/185177177652862977%5D
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