Roseanne Barr Joins Twitter Vigilante Crew

MARCH 29--The comedian Roseanne Barr last night tweeted the home address of George Zimmerman’s parents to her 110,000-plus Twitter followers, only to delete the posting after “not fully understanding that it was private not public.”

Barr’s posting of the correct Florida address of Robert and Gladys Zimmerman came at the same time Spike Lee was issuing an apology for erroneously disseminating a tweet that purportedly contained the home address of George Zimmerman, who last month killed teenager Trayvon Martin.

The residence cited by Lee is actually the home of an elderly couple with no connection to Zimmerman.

Barr, who deleted her tweet in the face of criticism from some Twitter followers, noted that she first thought it “was good to let ppl know that no one can hide anymore.”  That stance quickly changed, with Barr reporting, “But vigilante-ism is what killed Trayvon. I don’t support that.”

But while Barr deleted her original posting, the Zimmermans’s address remains in messages in her Twitter stream. Barr’s original tweet was a retweet of a post by a new Twitter user who appears devoted to disseminating the Zimmermans’s address and phone number, as well as contact information for Joseph Oliver, who has made numerous TV appearances in support of Zimmerman, a friend and former coworker.

Still, the entertainer left open the possibility that she would again circulate the Seminole County address of Zimmerman’s parents. “If Zimmerman isn’t arrested I’ll rt his address again.” She added, “maybe go 2 his house myself.”

There is no indication that Zimmerman, who is reportedly in hiding, is holed up in his parents’s residence.

By tweeting the Zimmermans’s address, Barr appears to have violated Twitter rules that state, “You may not publish or post other people's private and confidential information, such as credit card numbers, street address or Social Security/National Identity numbers, without their express authorization and permission.” (3 pages)