[B&T warns this article contains adult themes that could offend some readers.] An American TV weatherman has reportedly been fired – and is now suing for false dismissal – after he was outed for posting a sex act on a gay webcam site.
Emmy Award-nominated weatherman Erick Adame (lead image), 39, was sacked by the New York-based broadcaster Mornings On 1 after webcam images of him from a site called Large Penis Support Group (LPSG) was anonymously sent to his employer and family members.
Adame, who had been with the network since 2017, was reportedly sacked after the images became public, a claim denied by his former employer, Spectrum News.
According to documents tended to the New York County Supreme Court, Adame believed he was terminated due to a case of “revenge porn”.
Adame is suing both Spectrum News and a company called Unit 4 Media LTD who owns the adult forum LPSG.
Late last week, Adame posted to Instagram to address the situation and to “share his truth rather than let others control the narrative of my life”.
He told his 19,000 followers: “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.
“On this site, I acted out my compulsive behaviours, while at home, by performing on camera for other men. It was 100 per cent 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,” he said.
He apologised to Mornings On 1 viewers “for any embarrassment or humiliation I have caused”, but added: “I don’t apologise for being openly gay or for being sex-positive – those are gifts and I have no shame about them.”
The now unemployed Adame told MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle last Tuesday that he understood that people may be offended by what he’d done, but remained unapologetic for his actions.
“I unequivocally do not apologise for being sex-positive and for being myself – for being an openly gay man,” he said.
He acknowledged that, as a public figure, someone for whom the “rules can be different”, he may have had a “lapse in judgment”.
“I didn’t commit a crime here,” he stressed. “What happened here is the other way around,” again referencing the incident as “revenge porn”.
As part of his evidence to court, Adame argued that he was merely adhering to government protocols around COVID-safe practises that included “enjoying sex virtually” through activities including video dates, sexting and participating in chat rooms.
A spokesperson for his former employer, Spectrum News, has denied that Adame was sacked and added it had worked with him for months to track down the person(s) who leaked the images. It declined to make any further comment.
In a statement to NBC News, Lawrence Walters, a lawyer for the webcam company, Unit 4 Media LTD, said the company’s policy was to comply with lawfully issued subpoenas and provide relevant user data when legally required.
Walters said: “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.”
