Erin Andrews has revisited the traumatic nude video leak that went viral in 2009. The Fox Sports personality, who was awarded $55 million in damages after a trial, feared the scandal would bring her career to an end.
Fox NFL reporter Erin Andrews feared her career was over after the secretly recorded hotel footage surfaced online
Andrews spoke about the devastating moment to Alex Cooper on the September 2 episode of Call Her Daddy. The 48-year-old said she was backstage at the ESPYs when she received several calls from a friend. “He’s like, ‘There’s naked video of you all over the internet,’ and I said, ‘No, there’s not. I don’t do that. I just don’t. What are you talking about? This is made up.'” However, once Andrews saw the footage, which was viewed by more than 16 million people, she was left in disbelief.
Immediately afterward, Andrews called her parents. “I called my mom and dad right away. I was screaming, crying because it was me, and it was me naked in a hotel room walking around. I just [had an] out-of-body experience and started screaming. My dad said when I called, he thought I was in a car accident because I was screaming so hard.”
Meanwhile, Andrews and her father talked about how much she loved her job and enjoyed being seen as the “girl next door.” As she became emotional, she recalled telling him that she believed her career was over and feared no one would ever take her seriously again. Because of what happened, she left her home in Atlanta and stayed with her parents, retreating to her old high school bedroom.
FBI investigation eventually discovered that a stalker had followed Andrews and secretly positioned his cellphone outside her hotel room to record her. A few months after the video surfaced online, the FBI arrested Michael David Barrett and charged him with interstate stalking. Barrett pleaded guilty in 2009 and served more than two years in prison. Andrews also sued Barrett and two hotel companies over the incident. Ultimately, a jury awarded Andrews $55 million in damages in 2016.
Originally reported by Meenakshi Sengupta on Reality Tea
