NASHVILLE, Feb. 24 (UPI) — Erin Andrews is still feeling the affects of being secretly videotaped by a stalker who followed her around the country, according to her lawyer.
Attorney Randall Kinnard presented his opening statement for Andrews in court Tuesday as part of a lawsuit against a Nashville hotel and admitted stalker Michael David Barrett, among others.
“This is so humiliating to her — and it continues,” Kinnard said of Andrews invasion of privacy, which ended up in at least one video uploaded online in 2008.
The Fox Sports reporter and Dancing With The Stars host is looking to get $75 million in damages from the defendants, which also include West End Hotel Partners and Windsor Capital Group. Marriott International, Inc., originally named a defendant in the case, has been dismissed from the suit.
The jury, selected from a pool of 50 to 60 people Monday, will reportedly hear from psychiatrists about the negative effects Barrett’s actions has had on Andrews. The television personality is said to suffer from a mild case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder since becoming aware of the secret recordings, among other stress-related issues.
Defendant Barrett, an Illinois insurance executive, secretly recorded Andrews through altered peep holes in her hotel room doors. After failing to sell any of the videos to celebrity gossip sites, Barrett posted a nude video of Andrews online.
In Tuesday’s hearing, Andrews’ attorneys claimed hotel employees granted Barrett’s requests to move to a room neighboring hers “without [Andrews’] consent or knowledge.”
In 2009, Barrett pleaded guilty to stalking Andrews and was ultimately sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Andrews said during a court hearing at the time she had been humiliated and embarrassed, “and my career has been ripped apart.”
