Erin Andrews Won $55 Million In The Hotel Peephole Lawsuit
Former ESPN reporter and current Dancing with the Has-Beens co-host Erin Andrews was awarded a settlement of around $55 million in damages for the peephole video that a creepy gross stalker took of her at a Marriott in Nashville in 2008. NBC News says it took a jury almost 8 hours to decide that the damages should be split up, almost equally, between the creepy gross stalker and the franchise owner of the Nashville Marriott. Erin Andrews was asking for $75 million. The jury declared that Erin’s creepy gross stalker Michael David Barrett should have to pay about $28 million and the franchise owner should cough up about $26 million.
Michael David Barrett served 2 years in the chokey after he pleaded guilty to stalking. He admitted that he was able to get Erin’s room number by using a house phone in the Nashville Marriott. He was then able to get a vacant room right next to hers. Their rooms were in an alcove hidden from the main hallway. While she was out of her room, he removed the peephole on her door and when she came back, he was able to film her using his cell phone. He testified that he did it because he was broke and thought that a video of a naked Erin Andrews would get him a lot of money. That didn’t happen. He tried to sell it to TMZ, but Harvey Levin gave a thumbs down to that shit. The footage eventually made it onto the Internet where millions of pairs of eyeballs saw it.
Erin’s lawyers argued that the hotel was to blame as much as her stalker since it was so easy for him to find out which room she was in and get the one next to hers. The hotel owner’s lawyers said that all fault should go to Erin’s stalker and Erin’s stalker alone.
Erin testified that she’s been forever traumatized by what happened to her and whenever she goes into a stadium for work (she works for Fox Sports now), she thinks about how everyone in there has probably seen the video. The executives at Marriott obviously sympathized with Erin, which is why one of them allegedly played the video for friends and made fun of her body during dinner at a restaurant.
She released this statement on Twitter today:
— Erin Andrews (@ErinAndrews) March 7, 2016
We already know that creepy gross stalker is broke, so my guess is that Erin will be lucky to get $28 out of him. Hopefully the franchise owner doesn’t appeal so Erin doesn’t have to go through that mess again. But they probably will. If they do, I’m guessing that when all is said and done and Erin has paid up all of her lawyer’s bills, she’ll have enough money to get a room at a Holiday Inn Express. Okay, maybe a regular Holiday Inn.
Pic: Getty