Erin Andrews had nude photos, taken without her consent in 2008, leaked to the internet by her stalker named Michael David Barrett. During the subsequent civil trial, which took place in 2016, Barrett admitted that he stalked Andrews, booked a Marriott Hotel room next to hers, tampered with the door’s peephole to record her without clothing, and then tried to sell the footage for a payoff, per Page Six. And when TMZ didn’t oblige him, he decided to upload the footage for the masses. Andrews also sued the Marriott Hotel because its employees willingly informed Barrett of her room number when asked. “There’s a house phone in the restaurant, so I picked up the house phone and called the operator, asked, ‘Can I have Erin Andrews’ room?'” said Barrett.
Despite Barrett’s admission, Andrews still had to deal with critics who, early in the process, felt that she’d masterminded the release of her own photos. “Erin Andrews didn’t need more attention, and she certainly didn’t want attention like that,” Andrews’ father said during the trial as she cried (via The Tennessean). Even after it was proven that Andrews was the victim in the scenario, she had to come to terms with knowing her private footage was on the internet. “I wanted to be the girl next door who loved sports, and now I’m the girl with a hotel scandal. It’s on the internet now. It’s going to be on the Internet until I die,” said Andrews during the trial (via CNN).
