Director Spike Lee was sued by a Florida couple last year after he posted a tweet that incorrectly stated their address was George Zimmerman's place of residence, and now, the couple is demanding more money.
Lee, who has been a public and vocal supporter of Trayvon Martin since his murder in February 2012, retweeted a Florida address said to belong to George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed unarmed teen Martin.
But in actuality, it wasn't Zimmerman's address - the information belonged to Elaine and David McClain, who told the Orlando Sentinel they started receiving hate mail shortly after Lee posted the tweet to his some-quarter million followers. David was forced to move out of the house for a period of time due to the harassment, which continued escalating as the address continued to spread online.
The McClains settled on March 29, 2012 with Lee, who tweeted an apology and reportedly called the couple to personally offer an explanation. He also agreed to give them a bit of monetary compensation for their troubles.
Now, the McClains are seeking more than $15,000 for "substantial injuries" they sustained after others continued to tweet and retweet the address in the days after Lee's initial post. The suit contended that the director negligently encouraged "a dangerous mob mentality among his Twitter followers" and the general public, the Sentinel reported. Additionally, the couple is reportedly having a hard time sleeping at night and have experienced heightened anxiety, according to the suit. The market value of their property has also allegedly plummeted because of the negative publicity.
The suit was filed in September, and will be moved to federal court in October.
