A Florida movie theater has shelved plans to screen a controversial new documentary from George Zimmerman’s perspective on the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Coral Gables Art Cinema was scheduled to hold a news conference and screening on Thursday of The Trayvon Hoax: Unmasking the Witness Fraud that Divided America.
Zimmerman, his attorney Larry Klayman, and the film’s director Joel Gilbert all planned to attend the event, Klayman announced in a press release.
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The theater faced sharp criticism on social media for even agreeing to host the screening. After Zimmerman filed a $100 million lawsuit against Martin’s family, their attorney Benjamin Crump and others Wednesday, the event was abruptly canceled.
“Coral Gables Art Cinema was not aware of all of the details surrounding this event and has made a decision to cancel it,” the art house theater tweeted Wednesday, along with a link to a Twitter Moment on the lawsuit.
Coral Gables Art Cinema was not aware of all of the details surrounding this private rental and has made a decision to cancel the rental. https://t.co/bpgmbT3Df7
— Coral Gables Art Cinema (@gablescinema) December 4, 2019
Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, fatally shot unarmed Martin in Sanford, Florida in 2012.
Zimmerman was acquitted by a Florida jury after claiming the shooting was self-defense.
His 36-page lawsuit now claims he was the victim of a conspiracy and was defamed in Crump’s recently published book, “Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People,” according to USA Today.
Martin’s family issued a statement saying there’s no evidence to support the claims in the suit.
