The jury could begin deliberating Friday.
Erika Goldring / Getty Images
Closing arguments are set to begin in Erin Andrews' civil case against the man convicted of stalking her and the hotel company that she said allowed him to request the room next to hers.
The sportscaster is seeking damages of $75 million from Michael David Barrett, the Nashville Marriott and its parent company after she was secretly recorded in her hotel room in 2008.
Barrett confessed to altering the peepholes in hotel room doors in Nashville and Columbus, recording Andrews nude, and posting the video online. Still images of her naked body were soon splashed across tabloids and online. Barrett was sentenced to serve two and a half years behind bars.
Andrews testified during the trial that she will forever be haunted by the recording.
"This will always be there," she said, adding that she still receives tweets and nasty messages about it. "There will always be a reminder every single day."
Andrews said that ESPN insisted she address the video in a nationally televised interview before she could return to her on-air job.
She testifed her bosses recommended she speak on Good Morning America since the show fell under the same corporate ownership as ESPN. Andrews, chose to on The Oprah Winfrey Show, even though she said she did not want to do the interview.
Andrews returned to her job the same week the air date of the Oprah interview was announced.
ESPN maintained in a statement that they supported Andrews throughout.
During her testimony, Andrews described the protections she takes when traveling, including checking air conditioner vents, alarm clocks, and bathrooms in hotel rooms for cameras.
This incident will also deter young women from pursing a career in sports, she said.
"I think what really hits home for me and hurts me the worst is when girls, high school, college, they tweet me and say, 'I want to be Erin Andrews – except for the Marriott stalking thing,'" she said.
Defense lawyer Marc Dedman points to the contracts Andrews signed with ESPN and Fox Sports, her role as host on Dancing With The Stars, and her multiple endorsement deals, and claim the incident has helped her career.
"Your income has gone up substantially since this occurred," Dedman said.
LINK: Defense Implies Nude Video Helped Erin Andrews’ Career
LINK: Erin Andrews Says ESPN Required Her To Do TV Interview About Nude Video
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1QRRVUY
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