Spike Lee Apologizes, Thought Couple's Home Was George Zimmerman Hideout
Director Spike Lee issued his apology on Wednesday night to a couple after he mistakenly retweeted their address, causing them to leave their house after continuous harassment and fear for their safety.
"I Deeply Apologize To The McClain Family For Retweeting Their Address," Lee tweeted. "It Was A Mistake. Please Leave The McClain's In Peace. Justice In Court."
George Zimmerman captured national headlines after the incident in which he was patrolling his neighborhood as a neighborhood watch volunteer. Zimmerman then spotted 17 year-old Trayvon Martin and shot and killed him in an incident Zimmerman is describing as self-defense.
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After Lee had made the innocent couple's address public, claiming it was the address of the hiding Zimmerman, they were besieged with threats and harassing actions. The situation became so disruptive that the couple, aged 70 and 72, were forced to leave their house and stay temporally in a hotel.
They had been harassed with hate mail, been questioned by the media, and had concerned neighbors criticize them since the tweet, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
"We got out of the house. It is just too scary," Elaine McClain told HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell on Wednesday before Lee had issued his apology.
"We've got to quit the hatred and the vengeance and start looking on the inside of people and quit looking on the outside of people. It is just sad the reactions that have been going on," she added.
The mix-up apparently was caused from that fact the woman's son is named William George Zimmerman. He had lived for a short while at the address in 1995.
George Zimmerman, who has not yet been charged with a crime, has been at the center of the growing controversy since February.
William Zimmerman explained that he used his mother and stepfather's address to register a car, get a driver's license and vote when he lived there after he had finished college.
