George Zimmerman, the man who was acquitted for killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012, was apparently hired to sign autographs at a recent gun show in Orlando, Florida. His meet-and-greet appearance was used as a marketing tactic to get more people to attend the show, but reportedly only 20 people requested in autograph in a period of about 6 hours.The organizers of the gun show have been criticized for hiring Zimmerman, even referring to him as their “guest of honor”. The show was originally to be held at The Magestic Event Center in Orlando, but they backed out due to “community pressure”. Many are not just criticizing why he would participate in such a event, but also why he would do so in the city of Orlando and state of Florida – the same exact place where he killed an unarmed Black teen.
Others are saying that Zimmerman is using the murder of an innocent person as a business – to put money in his pocket. The amount that Zimmerman was paid is actually undisclosed, but estimated to be around $5,000 to $10,000 – the average appearance fee for people who can draw attendees to an event. According to Zimmerman himself, he is “broke” and living off of donations from his supporters.
Zimmerman has also stated in the past that he stays “low-key”, but obviously that statement is not very true.