Spectrum NY1 Weatherman Erick Adame Fired After Webcam Nudes Leak
Category: News & Politics
Via: revillug • 2 years ago • 22 commentsBy: Justin Rohrlich, Kate Briquelet (The Daily Beast)
Erick Adame, NY1's morning meteorologist, lost his job after naked screenshots were anonymously sent to his mom and bosses.
The website itself is not specified in Adame's filing. A site called LPSG.com, however, advises users, "When you buy an LPSG membership it will appear on your bank statement as Unit 4 Media." LPSG, which stands for "Large Penis Support Group," describes itself as "the most amazing open-minded fun-spirited sexy adult community" on the internet.
The Daily Beast contacted Adame for comment on Monday morning. On Monday afternoon, he posted a message on Instagram, telling viewers and fans that he was "taking this opportunity to share my truth rather than let others control the narrative of my life."
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A TV weatherman in New York City was fired from his job after nude screenshots from an online video chat were sent by an anonymous user to his bosses at work as well as his own mother, court documents obtained by The Daily Beast show.
Erick Adame, a two-time Emmy nominee who served as a NY1 meteorologist for about four years until he recently disappeared from the air, is now petitioning a Manhattan judge to force the owners of the internet forum—named in court papers as Unit 4 Media, Ltd.—to identify the people who leaked the NSFW material and deep-sixed his career.
The website itself is not specified in Adame's filing. A site called LPSG.com, however, advises users, "When you buy an LPSG membership it will appear on your bank statement as Unit 4 Media." LPSG, which stands for "Large Penis Support Group," describes itself as "the most amazing open-minded fun-spirited sexy adult community" on the internet.
The Daily Beast contacted Adame for comment on Monday morning. On Monday afternoon, he posted a message on Instagram, telling viewers and fans that he was "taking this opportunity to share my truth rather than let others control the narrative of my life."
"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 cam website," Adame continued. "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."
In an email, Adame, an anchor on NY1's weekday morning show Mornings on 1, declined to comment and referred The Daily Beast to his lawyer, Jeremy Klausner. By midday Monday, Klausner had not responded to multiple emails and voicemails requesting comment.
A spokeswoman for Charter Communications, NY1's parent company, declined to comment or provide the exact date of Adame's termination.
"The weather can be unpredictable and and [sic] it's my pleasure to make sure you're prepared for whatever comes our way," Adame says on his personal website. "I take pride in telling a weather story that is not just interesting, but easy to understand. My accuracy is only as good as my ability to communicate the message."
On Monday, viewers began to notice Adame had gone missing without explanation.
"What's happened to Erick Adame??" one mournful-seeming Twitter user asked.
Adame's troubles can be traced back to late 2021, when he used Unit 4's "video chat service," and an anonymous user "wrongfully copied unclothed images" of him "by taking screenshots," Monday's petition states. The filing indicates the anonymous user had multiple accounts under the user names: Sonal Prehonn, Tommysize29, Funtimes99, and Landenboy227.
The user "wrongfully disseminated the images" to Adame's employer and mother, "with the intent of harassing, annoying, or alarming" him and "tortiously interfering" with his job, the petition states. As a result, the filing adds, Adame was fired by his employer.
"Anonymous knew [Adame] had a reasonable expectation that the images would remain private," the filing goes on. "Anonymous disseminated the images without [Adame's] consent."
Adame would like to pursue legal action against his anonymous tormentor "but is presently unable to do so without the information to identify" them, the petition says.
According to the filing, Unit 4 Media claimed it doesn't keep records that would identify the user, including "user supplied information and Ip addresses."
Lawrence Walters, an attorney for Unit 4 Media and LPSG, told The Daily Beast in an email: "Our client's policy is to comply with lawfully issued subpoenas. Capturing and disseminating user content without consent violates our client's Terms of Service and forum Rules which may result in a suspension or banning of the offending accounts."
Adame is not the first TV weatherman to be axed over nude photos. In 2006, meteorologist Jamey Singleton was fired by Roanoke, Virginia, NBC affiliate WSLS-TV after a naked picture of him getting out of the shower appeared on someone else's MySpace page.
In his statement, Adame apologized to his employers, colleagues, audience, family, and friends "for any embarrassment or humiliation I have caused you," and said he's seeking professional help. "As a public figure I recognize that I have certain responsibilities that come along with the privileges I enjoyed," Adame continued. "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."
The weatherman then directed his message to prospective employers: "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."
"Think about your management of the newsroom—what have you overlooked, forgiven or ignored? In the end, all talent is fallible, full of human foibles, and your job is not made easier by our antics," Adame added. "One thing I can promise is that I have learned a lesson and I will be an exemplary employee and the most informed and enthusiastic meteorologist you have ever seen."
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This poor man was victimized by someone and his employer set about punishing the victim instead of referring the matter to the authorities.
I think NY1, which is Spectrum's local news channel for the NYC area, has seriously misread its audience and customer base on this one. New York is a very gay friendly city and is also a city that values respecting others' privacy. Live and let live, basically. It's the only way a city of 8 million people can get through the day.
Yeahhh, but he should have known this was bound to happen.
I agree, though, with your premise, but I am still chuckling. Lpsg....Adame: "Yes. I have to get out in front of this story and make a confession: I have a large penis!"
Yeah, he should have known a website like that was full of risks.
But I feel millennials and people even younger are approaching their lives with online live-streaming tools like these. Employers are going to need to adapt.
Any relationship to Anthony Weiner?
Seems that weiner's are running amuck much to the dismay of the Dachshunds of the world.
I think there is a world of difference between what happened with Anthony Weiner and what has happened with TV Weatherman.
Weiner (1) sent an unsolicited picture to a young woman from his congressional feed and (2) went on to send penis pics to an underage female.
The behavior this weatherman seems to have engaged in was to find a webcam site for mutually consenting males to admire each other's genitals and do what people do when they look at pornographic images. It's definitely not how I want to be spending my online time and money but the social libertarian in me thinks it is none of my business what consenting adults do with each other.
Well, Anthony did send a photo of his weiner, that seems to me to think that he has a huge weiner. Our weatherman is in the same position, huge weiner.
So you can understand why Doxies of the world are upset over being dragged into this sitution. Being longer than you are tall is enough of a problem, now this.
The next thing that you know ''Rudy Hands in Pants'' will be suing one of the two.
Pssst, this is all tongue-in-cheek.
We definitely have a doxie problem going on here.
I have to admit that if this was a high school teacher with an OnlyFans channel and students were finding their way to watch his/her pay-per-views I might be siding with the school board in removing the teacher from the classroom.
And explaining that inconsistency to myself isn't easy.
Quite an understatement.
I think "naive" would have been a better choice of word than "absurd."
Indeed. 'Stupid' too.
How did the "user" know that it was Erick Adame that he was seeing? If the video chat service included facial shots, then yes, he was extremely foolish.
The problem for Adam is one can not UNSEE his nakedness. Nor can he disavow or "disassociate" from bone and 'boner' and the contours of his butt-cheeks captured, imitated, and mocked as the case may be around the country.
If he wants to be a big STAR in the porn industry: do the career change; his door is open widely to do just that very thing. He has been released to go sow his wild oats unrestricted and unmolested by news sources who value their record.
I don't think that's what this site was about. I think it was more about virtual hookups.
But I don't really know.
There is no way I would personally start messing around with webcam sites and I feel sorry for anyone who would.
On the other hand, these kids today are doing a lot of the darnedest things. It seems they all want to be body positive, sex positive, non-binary, and live-streaming it all.
This is tricky language (see underlines above). Such sites 'advance' sexual situations. And, without seeing the site (which I may try to do for research purposes) it is likely so that surrounding this photos or "stills" are other moving images of sexual activity.
A public figure should be responsible. And, as Mr. Adame clearly states and I quote:
"As a public figure I recognize that I have certain responsibilities that come along with the privileges I enjoyed."
Responsibility means asking permission of his company ahead of appearing on the site (realizing that his image as a news industry personality would drive traffic to the site) if only for gawkers and "looky-loos" and well as those who would enjoy his nakedness.
Responsibility means he would should have "come clean" once he completed his behavior on the site by leaving his image there (remember the news channel pays him not just for talent but aid/finance the 'maintenance' of his. . . public image building). He did not speak up for himself afterwards. He was 'exposed' and the station was unprepared. ("Cold-cocked" no pun intended.
Responsibility means respecting his news persona, also. Why? Because there are competing forces always searching and asking to take his 'spot' in a competitive industry. They won't remove their clothes on 'naughty' sites . . . and not alert the station to having done so. . . as nudity will not be their 'thing.'
These sites have user policies and one of those policies is no doubt, "user will not copy content from this site and convey the contents to other persons."
Does a person engaging in consensual virtual sex have an expectation of privacy?
I would say they do.
At least a legal expectation if not a practical one.
I'm a New Yorker and I really don't care what the morning weatherman does in his private time to get his rocks off. Although I cancelled my NY1 cable TV subscription several months ago, I remember Erick Adame as someone who was passionate about reporting the weather.
And so somebody violated site rules. . . how does that weigh on the employer and news industry? What right does industry have to protect itself (and its ratings)?
It bares separating a 'whistleblower' from the employer (unless they are one and the same)! Do keep in mind that two wrongs (Adame's personal action; removal of any site images) does not mean his contract with his employer (who needs viewers to watch his 'product' of news) was not put in jeopardy.
BTW, I am all for Erick Adame getting on with his life, but yes this activity comes with social and professional consequences.
I think NY1 (his news channel) blew it.
For years on end their Rail and Road Report (which ran every 20 minutes) featured female hotties. We are talking former cheer leaders in at least one case. Not bimbos, but hotties.
This particular weatherman was quite charming. He was passionate about the weather and we all pretty much guessed he was gay. (Had no idea he needed a support group for his large penis, but those are problems half of us wish we had.)
NY1 cultivates a sort of "extended family" vibe with its audience. If you watch the channel you feel like you are checking in with friends.
The flip side?
We all hate this internet provider and its predatory cable TV pricing.
So,
Cut the cord for Erick Adame is what I say!
Are you with me folks?
Morning/Afternoon Revillug! I am not sure what to say about the local affection for Erick Adame. I do appreciate that heterosexuals can support him on 'cause.' I support him getting on with his life.
A moral clause (if it exist in his contract and most do have it for personalities) has him by the proverbial 'balls,' nevertheless. The television industry can not have "moonlighters" executing 'naughty but nice' sex acts on camera to promote its ratings! (Just imagine if all 'casters' got into that game.)
Erick made a video 'package' from which my understanding is picture 'stills' were leaked. Just imagine the traffic that is competing to get to the website to see what he his 'packing'—from high schoolers to aged. Then, imagine what 'escalation' can do if all 'casters' were to attempt driving their ratings numbers by exposure on the web. Just imagine that.
lost his job after naked screenshots were anonymously sent to his mom
That’s just cold. Maybe there’s a porn weather channel that he could work for, and the temperature outside could be gauged by the shrinkage of his large penis.
He may have grounds for an illegal termination law suit. There is nothing illegal, nor even unethical, about what he was doing. What people do in the privacy of their own homes with consenting adults is none of my concern.