ESPN’s Erin Andrews tells Oprah Winfrey secretly taped nude Internet video was “nightmare”

Erin Andrews to Oprah: Nude video was “nightmare”

CHICAGO — ESPN reporter Erin Andrews said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that having secretly videotaped nude footage of her distributed on the Internet was a “nightmare.”

Winfrey’s interview with Andrews will air Friday, Sept. 11, as part of a “Summer Headlines” show that previews the 24th season of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Andrews also tells Winfrey she “opened up the computer (and) could feel my heart pounding.”

Andrews’ attorney has said the blurry five-minute video was shot at a hotel without her knowledge and she plans to seek criminal charges and file lawsuits against whoever shot the video and anyone who publishes it.

The reporter also says she’s excited to get back to work this fall, adding “it’s really going to help me heal my wounds.”

Andrews will be working on air Thursday night for the first time since the video became widespread news. She’ll be the sideline reporter for ESPN’s broadcast of South Carolina at North Carolina State.

It was not clear when the video of Andrews in the hotel room first appeared on the Internet. The person who first posted the video didn’t identify the nude woman, and Andrews’ attorney later confirmed the video was of the 31-year-old reporter.

Andrews, a former University of Florida dance team member, was an Internet sensation even before the video’s circulation. Some Web sites have referred to her as “Erin Pageviews” because of the traffic she can generate, and Playboy magazine named her “sexiest sportscaster” in both 2008 and 2009. She has covered numerous sports for the network since 2004, often as a sideline reporter.

On the Net:

The Oprah Winfrey Show: www.oprah.com