Erin Andrews wins $55 million judgment in video lawsuit
Erin Andrews won a major $55 million judgement on Monday after the Nashville Marriott and a stalker were found liable for a nude video of the journalist that spread across the Internet.
Andrews sued the hotel for negligence after a man was given a hotel room next to hers upon request. The man, Michael Barrett, then videotaped her through her door's peephole.
Barrett then posted the video online where it continues to spread. He is currently serving two years in prison after pleading guilty to interstate stalking.
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Andrew is best known as a sideline reporter for ESPN and later Fox Sports, where she has worked since 2012.
The video has reportedly been the subject of more than 300 million searches and viewed around 17 million times.
Andrews released a statement on Twitter thanking the court, her legal team, friends and family.
"Their outreach has helped me be able to stand up and hold accountable those whose job it is to protect everyone's safety, security and privacy," she wrote.
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Andrews had originally been seeking $75 million in damages.
Andrews appeared on the stand for two days and gave tearful testimony about the impact of the video on her life. She also revealed that ESPN had forced her to talk about the incident on national television.
The jury in the case had been deliberating since Monday over the video, which was filmed and released in 2008. The hotel claimed that the blame fell solely on Barrett.
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Jason Abbruzzese is a Business Reporter at Mashable. He covers the media and telecom industries with a particular focus on how the Internet is changing these markets and impacting consumers. Prior to working at Mashable, Jason served as Markets Reporter and Web Producer at the Financial Times. Jason holds a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University and an M.A. in International Affairs from Australian National University.
