Gay NY Weatherman Sacked Over Nude Webcam Video Leak
Image: Erick Adame
An Emmy nominated, out gay New York-based Meteorologist and TV presenter, Erick Adame, said he was fired from his “dream job”, after someone took screenshots of him performing on an adult cam website and sent it to his mother and employer.
Adame, who has over over 15 years broadcast journalism experience, was the resident weatherman on the ‘Mornings On 1′ show on weekdays on Spectrum News’ NY1 channel since 2017.
He was part of the NY1 team that was nominated twice for the Emmys for their coverage of Hurricane Ida and Tropical Storm Isaias.
On Monday, he posted to Instagram about the circumstances surrounding his leaving the TV news outlet saying he was taking the “opportunity to share my truth rather than let others control the narrative of my life.”
Secretly Appeared On Adult Cam Website
“Despite being a public figure and being on television in the biggest market in the country in front of millions of people five days a week for more than a decade and a half, I secretly appeared on an adult webcam website,” Adame revealed to his social media followers.
“On this site, I acted out my compulsive behaviors, while at home, by performing on camera for other men. It was 100% consensual on both of our parts. I wasn’t paid for this, and it was absurd of me to think I could keep this private. Nonetheless, my employer found out and I was suspended and then terminated,” the weatherman said.
Adame apologised to his employers at Spectrum, his co-workers, family and friends, and said he couldn’t take back or change what had happened, but was getting professional help “so I can make appropriate decisions that don’t affect those I care deeply about, as well as my career, as I move forward in my life.”
He made it clear that he was not apologising for being gay. “As a public figure I recognize that I have certain responsibilities that come along with the privileges I enjoyed. But, let me be clear about something: I don’t apologize for being openly gay or for being sex-positive—those are gifts and I have no shame about them”.
Message To Future Employers
View this post on Instagram
The loss of his dream job and the reality that he may not be on TV ever again has hit him hard, but Adame said he has not given up hope.
“Right now I’m adrift in my life for the first time in many years. I had the job of my dreams and I lost it due to my own lapse in judgment. But, I’m optimistic, and perhaps naive enough to think that I can be back on television and do this again someday,” said Adame, who also reflected on his Mexican American heritage.
“After all, the odds were against me almost two decades ago as the son of working-class Mexican immigrants who was the first in the family to go to college; the first to be on television; the first to ‘make something of himself.'”
He has urged future employers who may decide whether or not to hire him to judge him on his past work and not the leaked nude video.
“Please judge me on the hundreds, thousands of hours of television that I am so proud of and that my employers have always commended me for, and not the couple of minutes of salacious video that is probably going to soon define me in our ‘click-bait’ culture,” he said.
Files Lawsuit For Anonymous User’s Identity
He also had a message for his friends, colleagues and viewers, who looked to him for their daily weather reports. “Even at this horrible, humbling moment, I have nothing but love and gratitude for all of you and the world. I absolutely loved my job and being a part of your day for years was an absolute honor. I have been blessed and know it and will act accordingly moving forward,” Adame added.
Many of his social media followers sent messages of support. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. This is a beautiful message. Any news outlet would be lucky to have you!” commented London-based actor Michael Judson Berry. Others questioned the new outlet for firing him over the incident.
The Daily Beast reported that Adame had filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court against Unit 4 Media Ltd, seeking an order to the company to reveal the identity of the anonymous user who sent screenshots of the nudes to his mother and employer.
He is an idiot, The same thing would have happened if he was straight