© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
KCUR is broadcasting from our auxiliary tower, limiting the reach of our broadcast signal. Streaming is still available online at KCUR.org and on smart devices.

Jury Awards Erin Andrews $55 Million In Lawsuit Over Nude Video

Fox Sportscaster Erin Andrews, who also hosts ABC's <em>Dancing with the Stars</em> (center), in court March 4. She sued a hotel after another guest secretly filmed her nude through a hotel door peephole.
Getty Images
Fox Sportscaster Erin Andrews, who also hosts ABC's Dancing with the Stars (center), in court March 4. She sued a hotel after another guest secretly filmed her nude through a hotel door peephole.

A jury awarded Fox sportscaster Erin Andrews $55 million Monday in a civil lawsuit she filed against a Nashville Marriott hotel after a stalker filmed her nude through her door's peephole in 2008.

The video was put online, where it was viewed millions of times, and Andrews sued the hotel and the stalker for $75 million for negligence, emotional distress and invasion of privacy.

The man who recorded her, Michael Barrett, admitted stalking Andrews and was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. He confessed that he arranged with the hotel to stay in the room next to hers and altered the peephole in order to record her nude.

The defense team argued that Andrews' career had improved because of the video. The Chicago Tribune writes:

"The defense team's flawed premise in this case is basically that women in sports broadcasting are commonly sexualized, so of course Andrews would benefit from being exposed like this."

Andrews, meanwhile, countered that the video could make a mockery of her career. She testified in court, saying tearfully that the incident has negatively impacted her life.

"I feel so ashamed," she said in her testimony. "This happens every day of my life. Either I get a tweet, or somebody makes a comment in the paper, or somebody sends me a still of the video to my Twitter, or somebody screams it at me in the stands. And I'm right back to this."

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

KCUR serves the Kansas City region with breaking news and award-winning podcasts.
Your donation helps keep nonprofit journalism free and available for everyone.