Trial Highlights: Sportscaster Erin Andrews' Injury Suit
Fox News sportscaster Erin Andrews was filmed naked in 2008 in her hotel room in a Nashville, Tennessee Marriott, and that video went viral in 2009. The release caused her personal and professional distress and damages, Andrews says. She is demanding $75 million from the hotel in an injury suit happening in Nashville now.
This week Andrews testified about the impact the video had on her life, and she was in tears about the violation of privacy, as well as the fact that her former employer ESPN forced her to discuss the video in an on-air interview. But the defense is not buying it, and has proposed that Andrews' star actually rose because she's been seen in the nude.
Court Is in Session
The case has been going on for quite some time. Andrews initially tried to sue the whole of Marriott Hotels but a judge ruled that the chain cannot be responsible for the work of employees in a single franchise.
Andrews claims that the filming of the nude video could have been prevented if a hotel clerk let her know that someone called and asked to be placed next door to her. Now she is up against the Nashville Marriott, and their lawyers are not being gentle.
Defense attorneys for the hotel questioned Andrews this week about all the endorsements she has had since the video of her showering in her hotel went viral. The implication is that being filmed through a peephole while she was in the hotel and that having the video released has been a boon to her career, rather than a bust. Andrews confirmed she has received endorsements from Reebok, Degree deodorant, Mountain Dew and Victoria's Secret.
Defense counsel also pointed out that Andrews got a second contract offer from ESPN, her former employer, and has since moved to Fox. She, unsurprisingly, states that her hard work is what has brought these opportunities.
Never Forget
Andrews testified that her career has enabled her to cope with the aftermath of the video's release. "I feel like if I can do the top NFL game, and I can work the World Series and hand out trophies, then people will forget. I feel like if I can compete on Dancing with the Stars and make it to the finale and host the show and have all these things on my plate ... people will forget ... and hopefully I will forget."
Although Andrews is the victim here, there is one person who will definitely forget what happened and that is the perpetrator Michael David Barrett. He pled guilty to stalking Andrews in 2009 and this week testified that he is "not proud" of what he had done.
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Related Resources:
- Stalking (FindLaw's Learn About the Law)
- Erin Andrews Lawsuit: Dispute Over Employment and Medical Records (FindLaw's Celebrity Justice)
- Erin Andrews Peephole Charges and Interstate Stalking (FindLaw Blotter)
- Erin Andrews' Stalker Is Sentenced (FindLaw's Celebrity Justice)