A defense lawyer for Nashville Marriott hotel where sport broadcaster Erin Andrews was filmed by hotel peeping stalker suggested on Tuesday, that her nude videos helped her to get much attention that benefited her career.However, legal professional says, Marriott's representing lawyer made a bad defense regarding the case.
The Daily News reported, during the cross examination for the ongoing trial on Erin Andrews' peephole stalker case in Nashville, the Fox sportscaster is bombarded with questions regarding her successful professional career in the wake of her viral nude video on the internet.
Marc Dedman,the hotel's representing defense lawyer asked Andrews, "When you found out about this in July 2009, you were working for ESPN, right?" Andrews replied yes to Dedman. The defense lawyer asked if her second contract with ESPN was a better contract than her the first one.
"After that you got a contract with Fox Sports right? And that was a better contract than you had with your second contract with ESPN, right? Your income has gone up substantially since this occurred," Dedman said, which Andrews' lawyers objected, according to Washington Post.
Media reports say, the questions thrown to her were as "ghoulish, ruthless, shameful, pointed and heartless and pretty gross". Criticism also surfaces that the defense is trying to show Andrews' professional career was not harmed or the incident helped Andrews reaching her current level of professional success.
Legal expert, Justin Dillon of Law firm, LeGrand & Dillon PLLC said, "In a case that is all about a demeaning act, it is probably a very bad idea to demean the plaintiff," Exavier Pope, a legal analyst also said, it was "not a smart move by defense", Bleacher Report quoted.
Erin Andrews is suing the stalker, the owner and manager of the Nashville Marriott for a $75 million lawsuit. Andrews described how the defendant, Michael Barrett crushed her sense of personal safety when he asked a room next to her, altered her room's door peephole using a hacksaw and filmed her without her knowledge. She is accusing the hotel for failing to provide adequate security.
However, the hotel in defense says, what happened to Andrews is "terrible" but the stalker is to blame. It claims the stalker did not ask for Andrews by name.
