MIAMI — If George Zimmerman wants to meet women, he’s likely going to have to do it the old-fashioned way: at a club, bar or dog park.
Because it seems the dating apps are onto him.
The former volunteer neighborhood watchman who was acquitted of killing unarmed Miami teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012, was kicked off popular hookup app Tinder last week.
George Zimmerman, right, in 2013. AP Photo/John Raoux, File
Tampa’s Creative Loafing reported spotting “Carter” on Wednesday and was able to snap screengrabs of his now defunct profile full of photos in various situations. There he is, grinning with his Rottweiler, then again in mirrored sunglasses with no shirt chatting on the phone.
Carter described himself as a self-employed “consultant” looking for “carefree fun.” His alias enjoyed hiking, fishing, “quiet nights” and takeout from Longhorn Steakhouse.
Alert users reported the fake profile and Tinder took action.
“At Tinder, we take our users’ safety very seriously and our team has removed this profile from our platform,” read a statement Thursday. “We utilize a network of industry-leading automated and manual moderation and review tools, systems and processes – and spend millions of dollars annually – to prevent, monitor and remove bad actors who have violated our Community Guidelines and Terms of Use from our app.”
Zimmerman was also banned from another dating app, Bumble, reported the Orlando Sentinel.
Twice.
“George Zimmerman was blocked and banned in December 2018 when we first discovered his profile and we have blocked and banned him again after we were informed by our users that he had created a new unverified profile,” reads a statement from a Bumble spokesperson. “We have thousands of moderators working tirelessly with our users to make Bumble the safest and most empowering social networking platform and this is another example of those efforts.”
Since his acquittal, Zimmerman hasn’t exactly kept a low profile: The 35-year-old, who now resides in Apopka, Florida, in Orange County, has remained in the headlines after various brushes with the law.
Just in May of last year, he was in court over a misdemeanor stalking charge after he made threats to a private investigator, telling him he would feed him to an alligator. Jay Z, who was working on a documentary about the murder, even came under attack.
Back in December 2017, when he got wind of the rapper’s project, “Rest in Power,” Zimmerman even threatened to feed the music star to an alligator if he tried to interview his family. “I know how to handle people who f—k with me,” he reportedly said at the time. “I have since February 2012.”
The Virginia native’s divorce from Shellie Zimmerman was finalized in January 2016. His ex filed for divorce in September 2013, two months after her then-husband was acquitted in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Martin.
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