Spike Lee Settles With Couple He Wrongly Linked to Trayvon Martin Killing

Cinematic provocateur pays undisclosed amount to elderly Florida couple for all the trouble he caused them when he mistakenly retweeted their address

By Josh Grossberg Mar 30, 2012 3:05 PMTags
Spike LeeGetty Images

If you ask Spike Lee, they've gotta have it. And deserve it.

The controversial filmmaker has reached a settlement with Elaine and David McClain, the elderly Florida couple he inadvertantly tied to Trayvon Martin's killer over Twitter, prompting them to fear for their safety and leave their Sanford, Fla., home.

No word how much Lee's paying them, but whatever the amount, it was enough to put the matter to rest.

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"Spike has agreed to compensate the McClains for their loss and for the disruption into their lives," Matt Morgan, the McClains' attorney, announced yesterday according to published reports. "He's taken full responsibility."

The Do the Right Thing director came under intense criticism for mistakenly retweeting the septuagenarians' home address thinking it was the location of George Zimmerman, the 28-year-old neighborhood watch captain who admitted killing the unarmed black teen last month in self-defense but has yet to be arrested, sparking a national outcry.

The McClains' son, William George Zimmerman, previously lived with them in the '90s, accounting for the mix-up which ended up causing his parents an immense amount of grief this week. Once their address was made public, the press descended on them and they received hate mail and unwanted visitors, leading them to flee their residence for a hotel and threaten to take legal action against Lee.

To his credit, Spike not only apologized to the McClains Wednesday on Twitter, he also called them to personally say he felt bad about the anguish he caused them and regretted his actions.