Gay weatherman who lost job over webcam show leak speaks out
"I never wanted any of those videos or images to ever be recorded, or kept, or shared, or saved in any way," says Emmy-nominee Erick Adame.
Gay weatherman Erick Adame has spoken out against “sexual predators” and “exploitation” after personal webcam imagery of him was sent to his mother and employer, costing him his job.
The Emmy-nominated meteorologist was fired last September after a Spectrum News NY1 rep said his behaviour, reportedly on on Chaturbate, was “inconsistent with company standards.”
Adame, then 39, left the post while apologising for “any embarrassment or humiliation I have caused,” before stepping out of the limelight.
However, in an Instagram video posted on Monday 2 January, Adame addressed the incident publicly for the first time since last September.
“I never wanted any of those videos or images to ever be recorded”
“It’s been a rough couple of months for me,” the star said. “It was back in September when that news broke that those images had been sent to my work, my mom, and as a result of those images, I did lose my job at Spectrum News.
“That news also gave what I can only call sexual predators the idea that I wanted to be exploited and humiliated. As if it were something I enjoyed, while these people are out there searching the internet trying to find whatever pictures or videos of me that they can possibly find.
“I want to be absolutely clear about something tonight. I never wanted any of those videos or images to ever be recorded, or kept, or shared, or saved in any way. I don’t want any of this attention I’ve been receiving. What I do want is for these people to leave me alone. I’m hurt. And I wish people would focus more on the fact these videos exist when they shouldn’t exist. As opposed to the salacious details that people have been going on and on and on about.”
He signed off with a word of advice to those watching: “The internet is an extremely dangerous place. Anything you put out there on the internet is going to be out there forever. And there are sexual predators who are ready to exploit you.”
Click here to hear Adame’s video in full.
In a statement posted online after last September’s controversy, the New York City-based Adame wrote: “I have recently been terminated from my job as the meteorologist at Spectrum News NY1 in NYC. I am taking this opportunity to share my truth rather than let others control the narrative of my life.
“My psychiatrist calls my actions ‘compulsive behaviour,’ others would call them reckless, stupid or brazen. I’m not in a position to argue with any of these descriptions.”
The weatherman continued: “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% 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.”