Celebrity News March 01, 2016
Erin Andrews’ Emotional Breakdown in Court: ‘Dad, I’m Naked All Over the Internet'
On Monday, Erin Andrews broke down in tears while testifying in her ongoing $75 million lawsuit against Marriott.
Andrews detailed how she found out about stalker Michael David Barrett's naked videos of her from a friend, who worked at “Sports Illustrated. She shared, “I could feel my chest and feel it in my head. I saw it for two seconds and said, 'Oh, my God, I have to call you back,' and I called my parents. I was just screaming… I said, 'Dad! I'm naked all over the Internet.'”
After the videos surfaced, she faced rumors that claimed she was doing it for attention. She explained, "The front page of the New York Post said 'ESPN Scandal.' To FOX News and CBS, everybody put up that I was doing it for publicity and attention, and that ripped me apart.”
Once the news broke about her videos, her employer at the time, ESPN reportedly asked Erin to do an interview before she continued her duties as a sportscaster. She revealed, “My bosses at ESPN told me, 'Before you go back on air for college football, we need you to give a sit-down interview.' And that was the only way I was going to be allowed back.”
Andrews eventually agreed to do an interview with Oprah Winfrey. “This is my life, and I feel terrible about myself, and we want to figure out how this happened. So, I didn't want to do it, I didn't want to be a part of it, and I just said, 'You know what? I know because she's very public about it, Oprah is a crime victim.' I talked to her producers, I told her I didn't want to do it, but this was the only way I was going to be put back on air, so we went to the Oprah show.
She also revealed how her life has changed since Barrett posted the videos online after being unable to sell the videos to TMZ. She said, “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 someone screams it at me in the stands and I'm right back to this. I feel so embarrassed and I am so ashamed.”
Andrews blamed the Marriott hotel in Nashville for not telling her about Barrett's request to have the room next to hers. "This could have been stopped. The Nashville Marriott could have just called me and said, 'We're putting this man that requested to be next to you, is this okay?' and I would have called the cops and we would have gotten him. It could have stopped this.”
She continued, “I have to stand up for myself. This could happen to anyone. I want the Nashville Marriott to be held responsible. I wanted to be respected, I just wanted to be the girl next door who loved sports. Now I'm the girl with the hotel scandal. It's embarrassing.”
The trial is continuing today. Watch the livestream below!