Erin Andrews has thrived as one of the most prominent reporters in sports media since the stalking scandal that rocked her life more than a decade ago.
Andrews was an early example of how private information can be shared online after a stalker followed her on her College GameDay and college football game schedule, illicitly recorded videos through the peephole of her hotel room, and published them online for the world to see. While the culprit was arrested within months and later imprisoned, the public’s reaction was not entirely on Andrews’ side.
In an interview on the Call Her Daddy podcast released this week, Andrews opened up about the “shame” she felt after seeing so many people make an assumption that she either faked or played up the incident for her own benefit.
“[The public thought] I did it to myself,” Andrews explained. “That I was on the cover of newspapers, just a still frame of the video, my naked body, and it said, ‘ESPN scandal.’ People thought I did it to myself for publicity or to help my career, which was the exact opposite of how I was feeling. I was feeling shame, like I would never get work again; I would never be taken seriously. And it was perceived [as the opposite], which is so sad.”
Fortunately for Andrews, she had time to lay low between when the video surfaced and the start of the following college football season. Andrews later sued the Nashville Marriott where the leaked video was recorded and testified at trial that ESPN had forced her to address the situation publicly before returning to work. In her telling, Andrews rebuked ESPN’s desire for the appearance to come on sister station ABC’s Good Morning America. Instead, she did the sit-down with Oprah Winfrey.
Andrews won the case and was awarded tens of millions in damages.
Looking back, Andrews believes the reception to the scandal would be immensely different now.
“The crazy part now is just seeing how the world and perception and how people aren’t, you know, judged like this,” she said on CHD. “If a crime like this had happened [now], it would have been a totally different situation.”
Indeed, in a world where cybersecurity is a greater concern and surveillance is more widespread, Andrews’ situation is, unfortunately, all the more common. The introduction of generative artificial intelligence has only made it worse, allowing bad actors to create fake caricatures of anyone they want, in compromising situations.
Andrews said she is grateful that her legal victory led to changes in standards around hotel security. “The laws could not keep up with technology,” she said. However, the presumption of guilt that Andrews faced also may have benefited future victims. When women’s privacy is compromised with technology today, they typically get far more support than Andrews did.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is an Editorial Lead at Awful Announcing overseeing digital content and special projects. He lives in Phoenix and has covered sports media for Awful Announcing since 2023.