Gay Weatherman Fired After Webcam Footage Leaked To His Workplace And Family
NY1 Spectrum News meteorologist Erick Adame has been fired after images of him on a cam site were leaked to his boss. Adame has posted an apology to his workplace, friends and family on Instagram where he calls his actions “compulsive behaviour”, reports Variety.
FIRED? FOR THIS? IN 2022, NO LESS
The apology that Erick Adame wrote says, “First and foremost, I unequivocally apologise to my employers at Spectrum, my co-workers, my audience, my family and my friends for any embarrassment or humiliation I have caused you.”
Mr Adame’s appearance on the adult webcam site was not only leaked to his employers but also to his mother. The details of this leak were reported by The Daily Beast in which it’s stated that Adame visited an unnamed site under the parent company Unit 4 Media, Ltd, where a user wrongfully screenshot his nude photos.
Adame is now seeking that Unit 4 Media reveal the anonymous individual so that they can be identified for a legal case. It’s somewhat baffling to fans of Adame that after four years and two Emmy nominations, he could be terminated for being the victim of a cyber-attack.
WHY SHOULD HE HAVE TO APOLOGISE?
In an era that boasts about sexual expression, it seems wholly implausible that Adame is being forced to apologise. In his statement he says, “I can’t take it back, and I can’t change what I did, but I am getting the professional help I need 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.”
There is no difference between images of Adame being leaked via a webcam site and someone scaling a building and photographing him through his window without his knowledge or consent. He had a reasonable expectation of privacy, which was violated, and for Adame to be the one to have to apologise is wholly unjust.
Adame believes that although he is sorry for the outcome of the leak, he does not want people to believe that he feels shame for his sexuality. “But, let me be clear about something: I don’t apologise for being openly gay or sex-positive – those are gifts and I have no shame about them,” he says.
Our media zeitgeist is saturated with hyper-sexualisation and the rewarding of such behaviour. What Erick Adame gets fired for a Kardashian builds an empire on. Is there a double standard at work? Is a leaked sex tape okay for a woman but not a man? Is it okay for a straight person but not a gay person?
