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Erin Andrews Opens Up About 2009 Nude Video Leak, Recalls Screaming and Crying to Her Father

Erin Andrews has opened up about the traumatic 2009 incident in which a stalker secretly recorded her inside a hotel room and later leaked the video online.

During a September 2 episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, the 48-year-old Fox Sports personality spoke with host Alex Cooper about the deeply painful experience and the impact it had on her personal life and career.

Andrews recalled the moment she first learned that a private video of her had appeared online. At the time, she was working as a sideline reporter and said she believed her career was going well. While working backstage at the ESPYs, a friend repeatedly called her and eventually told her that a nude video of her was circulating on the internet.

Andrews initially refused to believe it. She recalled telling her friend that she did not make such videos and that it could not possibly be her. However, after her friend sent her the footage, she realized what had happened.

The experience left Andrews devastated. She said she immediately called her parents while screaming and crying. Her emotional reaction was so intense that her father initially thought she had been involved in a car accident.

Andrews also remembered telling her father that she believed her career was over. She had loved her work and enjoyed being viewed as an ordinary person from her hometown, but suddenly feared that people would never take her seriously again.

The videos had been secretly recorded by Michael David Barrett, who stalked Andrews by contacting hotels where she was staying and requesting a room next to hers. He secretly filmed her through the peephole of her hotel room before posting the footage online.

Barrett was arrested by the FBI in October 2009. He was later sentenced to prison and ordered to pay fines and restitution. Andrews subsequently filed lawsuits against Barrett as well as Marriott International and Radisson, alleging that information about her hotel stays had been disclosed and that she had been placed in a room next to the stalker.

After a difficult legal battle, Andrews was awarded $55 million in damages in 2016.

Looking back, Andrews said she struggled with shame and feared that people would assume she had released the footage herself for publicity. She recalled seeing newspaper coverage featuring an image from the video alongside headlines portraying the incident as an ESPN scandal.

Instead of helping her career, Andrews said the incident made her feel humiliated and convinced that she might never work again. She eventually left her home in Atlanta and stayed with her parents, retreating to her old high school bedroom.

Andrews also recalled the night the FBI informed her that Barrett had been captured. Although the arrest brought some relief, she said authorities warned that details of the case would soon become public.

More than a decade later, Andrews continues to reflect on how the incident changed her life. She questioned why victims of such crimes are sometimes judged or blamed, arguing that public attitudes might be very different if similar violations were treated with greater understanding and empathy.