How Erin Andrews Now Manages Traveling and Hotel Stays After Being Traumatized by Peeping Tom Video

The sportscaster told a jury she takes extra security precautions while staying at hotels

Photo: Mark Humphrey/AP

Sportscaster Erin Andrews, who was recently awarded $55 million in damages from a secretly recorded nude video taken of her at a Nashville Marriott, still lives in a constant state of trepidation when she is on the road, she testified during the trial.

Andrews, 37, spoke of the elaborate security measures she takes when she checks into hotels for her job, for which she travels extensively. She said she tells hotel staff that a man will be staying with her, even when that’s not the case.

“I tell them there’s a man staying with me and I [give them] a name,” she said. “I tell them I want to be moved from the room I was pre-booked in and also say if someone asks to be next to me, they need to call me,” she testified.

She also testified: “I go up to my room alone. I will not allow anyone to bring my bags up for me. I cover the peephole,” she said tearfully. “I look for lights, cameras . I look at the AC grates [and in] the bathroom.”

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Andrews also explained how she “booby traps” her rooms to see if someone has entered her room without her knowledge: “I put a piece of paper down by the door so when I leave if someone comes into the room I can tell,” she testified.

Andrews doesn’t allow room service to bring her food into her room, instead asking them to leave the food outside in the hallway. She also said that she no longer stays in rooms that are adjoined with other rooms.

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Barrett, the man who filmed her, had requested to be placed in the room next to her without her knowledge. He admitted to removing peepholes from her door and pointing his cell phone camera into her room to film her.

Andrews, a former Fox Sports reporter now with ESPN, had sued the franchise owner of the Nashville Marriott, West End Partners; the management company Windsor Capital Group and Barrett for $75 million.

On Monday, following the jury’s verdict, Andrews said in a statement: “I would like to thank the Nashville court, the court personnel and the jury for their service. The support I’ve received from the people of Nashville has been overwhelming. I would also like to thank my family, friends, and legal team.”