Spike Lee sorry he tried to send all those angry people to that elderly couple's house

By Sean O'Neal | March 29, 2012 | 6:49pm

Aux Features Film

Having realized ~~the inherent hypocrisy in facilitating vigilante violence against a violent vigilante~~ that he made a mistake by retweeting the incorrect address of Trayvon Martin’s killer and subsequently siccing the Internet on a pair of innocent septuagenarians, Spike Lee has issued an apology as an answer to the growing backlash. “I Deeply Apologize To The McClain Family For Retweeting Their Address. It Was A Mistake. Please Leave The McClain's In Peace. Justice In Court,” Lee tweeted last night, because he’s one of those people who capitalize the first letter of every word for some reason, like every tweet is the title of a sonnet or English folk ballad. (Say, do any of you have a lute?)

Anyway, CNN reports that the McClains—who are currently holed up in a hotel until this whole thing hopefully blows over—had already accepted a similar apology from the man who composed the original tweet, Marcus Higgins, but that they also wanted one from Lee, believing it would “be a healing for this community.” No word yet on whether the McClains have now also accepted Lee’s apology, or whether the community has indeed started to heal. It’s probably worth noting that Lee finally deigned to comment only after the couple retained a lawyer to pursue a possible civil case against him, and that lawyer told CNN that the couple was only seeking an apology and retraction “right now,” so it’s possible Lee’s mea culpa will be enough. Besides, there’s a whole new wave of George Zimmerman-related outrage a-comin’, so best to get this one out of the way.