What could be worse than being the victim of a stalker? For Erin Andrews, it might have been having the media accuse her of staging the whole thing for publicity.
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00:00What could be worse than being the victim of a stalker? For Erin Andrews,
00:04it might have been having the media accuse her of staging the whole thing for publicity.
00:08In 2008, while working for ESPN, Erin Andrews was the victim of a devastating crime which
00:13caused a serious blow to both her career and her mental health. While staying at a Marriott hotel
00:18in Nashville, Tennessee, Andrews was unknowingly filmed by a stalker while changing her clothes.
00:23Michael David Barrett, who was staying in an adjacent room,
00:26had altered the peephole of the door between the two rooms and filmed her through it.
00:30The footage was posted online, and before long,
00:32an estimated 16.8 million people had seen the sideline reporter in the buff.
00:37Speaking with the New York Post in May 2024,
00:40Andrews explained how difficult this time was, and how it left a lasting impact on her, saying,
00:46"'I would walk around stadiums and just think,
00:48everybody in this stadium has seen me naked, and I didn't have a choice. It was really hard.'
00:52Unfortunately, though, it would get even harder."
00:55Barrett was arrested by the FBI in 2009, and in 2010, he was sentenced to two and a half years
01:01in prison. But Andrews was just beginning her struggle. That same year, she filed a lawsuit
01:05against Marriott, accusing them of failing to protect her privacy against Barrett. He'd
01:10reportedly requested the room next to hers in order to record her. Meanwhile, false rumors
01:14swirled that Andrews had staged the entire thing as a publicity stunt. During her trial testimony,
01:20Andrews spoke of suffering from depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. As a result of
01:24being recorded without her knowledge, she told the New York Post,
01:28"'I had to prove to a lot of people that I didn't put those pictures up of myself.'"
01:32"'You are also of the opinion that it's an inside job?'
01:36"'I think. That's too random. I think that's too random.'"
01:39In fact, she was forced by her employers at ESPN to prove it. She said during her testimony,
01:45"'My bosses at ESPN told me,
01:47before you go back on air for college football, we need you to give a sit-down interview.
01:51And that was the only way I was going to be allowed back.'"
01:53Andrews said that she wanted to put the whole thing behind her, testifying,
01:57"'I just said, I don't want to do this. I just want to go back to college football.
02:00I don't want to talk about what happened to me.'"
02:02Ultimately, though, in order to get her job back,
02:05she was pressured into doing a sit-down interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show,
02:08where she had to publicly relive the ordeal.
02:12"'Does it feel like a re-violation?'
02:14"'Absolutely.'"
02:15In 2012, Andrews left ESPN for Fox, but the lawsuit with Marriott dragged on.
02:20Marriott requested that Fox send them her
02:22"'contracts,' performance reviews, and any disciplinary reports,"
02:26despite the fact that Andrews was employed by ESPN at the time of the illicit recording.
02:31In addition to these records, Marriott also sought
02:34"'physician letters,' notes, annual physicals, and other related medical records,'
02:39and a subpoena was granted by the judge. Andrews argued that Marriott was attempting to
02:43"'harass and embarrass' her with these requests." Eventually, though, she won.
02:48In 2016, a jury awarded her $55 million, with Barrett responsible for 51 percent,
02:54and the Nashville Marriott hotel runner to provide the remaining 49 percent.
02:58Still, it was a bit of a hollow victory for Andrews. She said during her testimony in 2016,
03:04"'It's on the internet now. I've been told it's going to be on the internet until I die.'"
03:08"'I've had law enforcement tell me,
03:10you're just gonna have to deal with the fact this is never gonna come off the internet.'"
03:15Erin Andrews' suit against her stalker and Marriott wrapped in March of 2016.
03:20But no sooner was it over than her life turned upside down yet again.
03:23In September of the same year, the reporter received the devastating diagnosis of cervical
03:27cancer. Her oncologist recommended she come in for surgery right away. Andrews ultimately
03:32received the operation a couple weeks later. Just days after the surgery, Andrews was back on the
03:37job, covering another football game. In January 2017, she told Sports Illustrated,
03:42"'Should I have been standing for a full game five days after surgery? Let's just say the
03:46doctor didn't recommend that. But just as I felt during my trial, sports were my escape.'"
03:50Not long after the first surgery, Andrews underwent a second procedure and,
03:54thankfully, learned she was cancer-free before December. It was a life-changing experience for
03:59her, and she's since advocated for women to get tested for cervical cancer regularly.
04:04Teaming up with Hologix, we can change this stat initiative in the process.
04:08As Andrews explained in the company's March 2018 press release,
04:12"'Going to my doctor for regular testing saved my life. No matter how busy you are,
04:16you have to find the time to be tested regularly for cervical cancer.'"
04:20"'You should not die of cervical cancer. It's curable, and it is detectable,
04:24and you just need to go to the doctor.'"
04:26But while Erin Andrews has certainly endured a lot, she has at least been able to lean on
04:30her husband, Jarrett Stoll, a retired professional hockey player, through it all. They first met in
04:362012, and five years later, they tied the knot. Sadly, throughout nearly their entire relationship,
04:41Andrews dealt with fertility issues. The couple finally welcomed their son,
04:45Mac, to the world in July 2023 via surrogate, and it became an opportunity for the sideline
04:50reporter to share her difficult experience with the public. Andrews told Glamour that
04:54she started freezing her eggs at age 35 because she was unsure when she would be able to have kids.
05:00After she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, Andrews' oncologist recommended that she freeze
05:04more of her eggs, but she was struggling to produce them. She and her husband decided to
05:09try in vitro fertilizations, but after eight treatments, Andrews was miserable, saying,
05:14"'I lost hair. My skin was never the same. My body's never really been the same.'"
05:19"'I would have chest pains every time I was waiting for the call if it worked,
05:23and I knew it wouldn't work.'"
05:25After several years, the couple decided to go through a surrogate, but Andrews and her
05:29husband experienced two losses during the process. Andrews said,
05:33"'That was really, really hard. It was awful.'"
05:35Thankfully, the couple finally fulfilled their dreams of becoming parents when their
05:39third surrogate became pregnant, and eventually delivered their baby boy.
05:43"'We have this picture when he was born, and I am just kissing my surrogate's head,
05:48and my husband is, like, holding onto the nurse like he just won a Stanley Cup.'"