The suit stems from the release of a video that Andrews’ stalker filmed after using a hacksaw to remove the peephole from her hotel door. Broilett said during closing arguments. And no, the money she’s seeking won’t heal those wounds either – but the hotel needs to be slapped financially for what it allowed to happen.
Advertisement
“We have to recognize that the people that we see on TV like Erin also have a personal life and sometimes that personal life is much more challenging than when they light up in front of a camera”, Broillet told jurors.
“This will always be there”, she said, adding that she still receives tweets and nasty messages about it. “There will always be a reminder every single day”. Her room number showed up on the phone’s screen.
ESPN maintained in a statement that they supported Andrews throughout.
While Palmer said he went out of his way not to bring up the scandal around Andrews, he said that the news of her convicted stalker’s arrest came as a relief.
“She just screamed and screamed: ‘I am naked all over the internet, ‘” an attorney said. (Marriott International was dismissed from the case at an earlier stage.) He also attempted to sow doubts on the foreseeability issue, saying that there’s no proof that the hotel put profits over security and that Andrews herself testified that she never could have envisioned this happening to her. Plus, he said that Barrett’s videotaping of Andrews was “one act” and that further distribution was another.
Advertisement
Defense lawyer Marc Dedman points to the contracts Andrews signed with ESPN and Fox Sports, her role as host on Dancing With The Stars, and her multiple endorsement deals, claiming the incident has helped her career. “It wasn’t to say it benefited her”, argued Dedman.
