The elderly couple targeted by an erroneous Tweet from director Spike Lee lawyered up yesterday after they were forced to leave their home.
Now, the director of “Do the Right Thing” has struck a deal with the Florida couple, according to The L.A. Times:
Elaine and David McClain, in their 70s, left their Sanford, Fla., home after their address was tweeted by a man who thought he had found the home of George Zimmerman, the 28-year-old who shot Martin, 17. Lee then re-tweeted the McClains’ address to his followers on Twitter….
The McClains’ claim is fully resolved,” Matt Morgan, their attorney, said in an email. “Mr. Lee personally called them to give a very heartfelt apology. Further, he agreed to compensate them for their loss and the disruption to their lives.
Don’t credit the Mainstream Media for this turn of events. News outlets — especially entertainment news outlets — did their best to bury or ignore Lee’s potentially disastrous re-tweet. New media outlets and Twitter users shined a light on Lee’s bad behavior, forcing the AWOL media to grudgingly cover the story but only in a dutiful way.
In the end, it was pressure from New Media that forced Lee’s hand.