Spike Lee apologizes for retweeting wrong Zimmerman address

[alp227]

Source: CNN

Director Spike Lee issued an apology Wednesday night to a Florida couple who had to leave their home after he retweeted a message that erroneously listed their address as belonging to George Zimmerman.

"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"

Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who claimed he killed teenager Trayvon Martin in self-defense last month, lives more than 4 miles from David and Elaine McClain. He is reported to be in hiding.

The McClains moved into a hotel room after the retweets.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/28/justice/florida-teen-spike-lee/index.html

[Ian David]

1. Post The Right Thing. n/t

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

8. .

[IamK]

2. There is no need for them to play mega millions... they just won the lottery... n/t

[riderinthestorm]

4. What??? They're being stalked, harrassed and receiving death threats!!!

How is this anything like winning the lottery?!

[Ruby the Liberal]

6. He fucked up. Defense attorneys are likely knocking down the door. nt

[TalkingDog]

7. It's called a Civil Suit. Stalking, harassment, etc. All recorded on the Internet.

n/t

[chollybocker]

3. "I Deeply Apologize...for Retweeting..."

Who sent the original Tweet, and why send out a false address? ...

[fishwax]

10. some guy in California -- apparently this couple had a son (I think) named

William George Zimmerman, and the original tweeter got that mixed up when searching for George Zimmerman's address. (The son hadn't lived at the address for a long time, though.)

[chollybocker]

12. Thanks, fw.

The "some guy" defense sounds logical.

[fishwax]

13. I know I've seen an article with his name, I just can't remember it :) n/t

[pinboy3niner]

19. "Some guy" has been identified as Marcus Davonne Higgins of Los Angeles

Details and photo at The Smoking Gun:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/spike-lee-zimmerman-tweet-567891

[chollybocker]

22. Thank you.

This is why I canceled cable.

[alp227]

43. OMG did you see the most upvoted comment?

"...liberals...don't see the humanity in people, they see color, gender and sexual identity. They groupify and victimize everyone. Everything is a political opportunity, everything is a calculation."

And the replies = mass conservative cyberbullying and "Democrats founded the KKK" and "MLK was Republican" talking points.

[pinboy3niner]

45. Now I'm especially glad that I never read the comments

Comment sections on too many sites are unmoderated or poorly-moderated (and any complaints about DU juries pale in comparison!). I hear that some sites are now canceling their comment sections because things are so out-of-control.

[leftofcool]

5. Too late, damage done

You should never have tweeted anyone's address and then wait two days to clear it up.

[creeksneakers2]

9. Spike should apologize for sending out an address at all

It was a terrible thing to do. What was Spike trying to do? Get Zimmerman murdered?

[Mz Pip]

11. This was

a real shit for brains moment when Lee decided that re tweeting this address was in any way a good idea. WTF did he think would happen? Even if it turned out to be Zimmerman's real address, what did he hope to accomplish? Whatever it was, a moment of thought would lead one to believe that it would not be peaceful.

We really need high profile people like Lee to act like grown-ups in this awful situation.

[Rowdyboy]

14. What you said.....I really expected better of Spike Lee....

Its such an immature childish thing to do. And now an innocent elderly couple pays the price for his ignorance.

[flamingdem]

15. I think he should offer to buy them a new house and pay

for their protection meanwhile, what an ass

[Rowdyboy]

18. That would be an appropriate response when a celebrity devastates a common family with lies...

A minimum response, but appropriate.

[flamingdem]

20. If he doesn't offer I hope they sue him

They have the evidence, he will have to pay up.

For an elderly couple the money won't matter, that's that sad part. Their health and home were hurt.

[Rowdyboy]

21. Thats what the courts are for....and I doubt a jury would show Spike much sympathy....

He really behaved inexcusably for an adult. He should be ashamed and he should pay through the nose.

Don't misunderstand-I've greatly admired Spike Lee for decades but this is really sickening. Totally unacceptable for a 1%er to treat commoners like this.

[Beacool]

17. Exactly!!

He shouldn't have sent the address in the first place, even if it had been the correct address. Do we know if Zimmerman lives alone? This could have also endangered his family.

Zimmerman should be charged with manslaughter and let him go through the judicial process.

[Enrique]

31. exactly

Spike Lee is missing the point.

[got root]

16. this is about the wackos last distraction, I don't think it's gonna work after the videos tonight

the funeral director, the lead homicide detective, the witnesses, etc.

sure, spike fucked up, but that is not the main issue in this story... but the authoritarians sure will try to build it up to be big enough to at least distract and not talk about the real issue here.

the cold blooded stalking murder of an innocent child, and then the coverup.

[Kurska]

23. Because putting an elderly couple in mortal danger is a "distraction".

This is why mob justice doesn't work, all it results in is innocent people getting hurt and far more often than not it doesn't even effect the guilty.

It is fine to point out when the judicial system fails and to pressure it, but when people start trying to take the role of the judicial system that is when travesties like this happen. Isn't that the fucking LESSON of the Trayvon Martin case? Don't try to be a god damn vigilante, yet here we have people trying to do similar things in the opposite direction and guess what MORE innocent lives were nearly lost.

Fucking makes me sick and yet this a "distraction".

[UnrepentantLiberal]

24. Sounds like the plot to Hang Em High with Clint Eastwood.

[got root]

28. yes, this is a distraction

and yes, people hold the justice system to a higher account than one random dude.

[OPOS]

39. Not a distraction if its your family in fear...

Spike Lee is a Massengill product, a pompous ass, and now has put this elderly couple in danger from whackjobs

[GreydeeThos]

25. Spike could at least done something useful

Like give them Rush Limbaugh's address

[AngryAmish]

34. Limbaugh's address has been posted here and other places many times

Clearly, this reflects the very best of DU.

[Tunkamerica]

26. what about Will Smith, 50 Cent, and LeBron James?

[alp227]

44. they were sent the address but didn't post it

[Ruby the Liberal]

46. You can't control what someone sends you

All they have to do is say "Hey @TwitterName bla bla bla"

It is up to @TwitterName to ignore or forward (retweet) to their followers. Spike Lee chose the latter option.

[cstanleytech]

27. IMO he should be slapped upside the head for the mistake and even trying to post the address at all

I'm not saying I am siding with Zimmerman over what happened as I will leave that to a jury to decide if it gets that far however its wrong imo to be posting the address of someone with the goal of causing them to be harassed if not injured or killed which is what I believe Spike Lee tried to do here.

[leftynyc]

29. He needs to do more than that

He really should offer to pay their hotel bills. It was an incredibly stupid thing to do.

[lunatica]

30. Hopefully this incident will make people realize the horrible danger of

exposing people to a big potential of violence against them. Posting addresses of people has gotten them killed such as George Tiller (abortion provider) getting gunned down.

I would think Spike Lee would be very aware of the danger of stalkers. I imagine every celebrity is stalked.

[loyalkydem]

32. I can

admit when I'm wrong about something. The haters do get some things right now and then. But will you all admit that this is a distraction and this is taking us off from getting justice for TrayVon?

[Myrina]

33. Well isn't that nice of him?

How 'bout paying off their mortgage so they can buy a new house someplace else, or doing something to ease the insanity they must be living through because of his careless Re-Tweet?

[loyalkydem]

35. You guys

need to stop with this he should pay money for their pain crap. If we're going to go there, then Gabby Giffords needs to demand that Sarah Palin pay for all of her medical expenses since Sarah Palin was the one who put up a graphic with her in the crosshairs.

[gejohnston]

37. not the same thing

Lee is smart enough to know what he was doing. They should sue the fuck out of him because the ends never justify the means.
Palin was just stupid. Come to think of it, maybe Gabby should sue Palin or at least whoever made the graphic for her.

[Travelman]

36. Way too little, way too late

Lee did a minimal apology. What he really should do is find a way to make a positive out of this situation. He needs to get out there and get in front of the cameras with these people, pay their hotel bills, their dry cleaning bills, and any meals they've eaten in the last few days and say in front of the cameras that no only is he sorry, but that this mob "justice" going on out here has to stop.

He had an opportunity to use his fame to do some good here, and he blew it. Badly.

[Bluenorthwest]

38. He could lend them his personal security detail....

You think wee Spike goes out on the streets without protection, professional protection?
He is just the 1%, doing what they do to those who are without resources.

[Travelman]

40. It certainly would be nice of him to offer that

And I agree: I wouldn't doubt that he does not wander the streets of New York without some manner of protection around him.

I have nothing personal against Lee. I suppose he's technically part of the 1%, but as film makers go, he's relatively poor when you stand him up next to, say, Speilberg. Either way, I don't begrudge anyone their success, but Lee definitely is a man of means, as well as commanding some presence through his fame, and he could and should use those to help correct his screw-up here. It's the smart thing to do, just from a PR perspective, and much more importantly, it's the right thing to do to alleviate the suffering that he has caused these poor people.

[efhmc]

42. Agreed.

[efhmc]

41. This is why this is the wrong thing to do, no matter how evil the person involved.