A Florida couple is suing film director Spike Lee for telling fans on Twitter that George Zimmerman lived at their Sanford home, which prompted a wave of death threats to the elderly couple, who have no relation to the acquitted killer.
On March 23, Mr. Lee retweeted a message to his 240,000 followers that said “EVERYBODY REPOST THIS” and included an address purported to be Mr. Zimmerman’s home address in Sanford, The Smoking Gun reported.
The address, however, was the longtime residence of Elaine and David McClain, who said at the time that the onslaught of death threats had made them fear for their lives.
“We’re keeping everything locked,” Mrs. McClain told The Smoking Gun. “Maybe we should get a lawyer and send a cease and desist letter to Spike Lee.”
Mr. Lee ended up contacting the McClains to apologize, and he entered into a $10,000 settlement agreement with the couple.
But the couple now says that “prior to, during, and after” Mr. Zimmerman’s murder trial, their address was “massively circulated among social networking sites.”
The lawsuit cites damages subsequent to the March 29, 2012, settlement with Mr. Lee but does not specify monetary damages, The Smoking Gun reported.
“A court filing by Lee’s attorney reports that the McClains’s counsel had valued the lawsuit at $1.2 million,” the report said.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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