The man who secretly recorded Erin Andrews through a peephole in her Nashville hotel room in 2008 has to pay the $28 million judgment despite declaring bankruptcy. According to The Tennessean, bankruptcy court judge Trish Brown ruled in Andrews’ favor, agreeing that her stalker, Michael David Barrett, shouldn’t be exempt from paying despite filing for bankruptcy.
As previously reported by Us Weekly, Barrett, an ex-felon and former truck driver, pleaded guilty in 2009 to secretly recording and then releasing a video showing the Dancing With the Stars cohost, 38, naked in her hotel room. During the trial, Barrett revealed he recorded and released the video for financial gain.
In March 2016, Andrews was awarded $55 million in a civil lawsuit against Barrett and the hotel’s owner and operator, West End Hotel Partners and Windsor Capital Group. She settled with the hotel for an undisclosed amount this past April.
The former ESPN host broke down in court in 2016 while describing the emotional damage the incident caused her. She also explained that her employer, ESPN, forced her to recall the incident in a sit-down interview before she could return to work.
“It’s always there. It’s always on my back,” she said. “I wanted to be the girl next door who loved sports, and now I’m the girl with a hotel scandal. … It’s on the internet now. … It’s going to be on the internet until I die.”
