Erin Andrews Calls Herself 'An Animal In A Cage' After Tampa Bay Sideline Incident
Erin Andrews just wants to do her job in peace.
In the latest episode of her Calm Down podcast with Charissa Thompson, the FOX sideline reporter expressed her frustration with an overzealous fan, who screamed for a picture with her in the middle of a conversation with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.
"I was standing — name drop — with Baker Mayfield before the game talking because I haven't seen him for the past year and as I'm standing there, this guy was like 'Erin, come over here! I want a picture!'" Andrews said.
"Oh my gosh!" Thompson responded, to which Andrews continued, "I was just like, 'Am I an animal in a zoo?'"
(Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
Even Mayfield acknowledged the fan's unruly behavior.
"Baker taps me on the shoulder, and he's like, 'Have fun with that one,'" Andrews said.
The fan told her he wanted a picture.
"You know what? I want a lot of things, but am I screaming at you?" she vented.
Erin Andrews Describes Frustrating Fan Interactions
The veteran reporter also described another encounter with an "over-served" man at the Fort Lauderdale Airport while she was on her way out of town on Christmas Eve.
Andrews explained that she had just finished covering the highly-touted matchup between the Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys. She was "so tired" and just wanted to grab a bite to eat and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc before the bar closed.
"The guy turns around at the bar and goes, 'I know who you are' and I was like, 'Cool. Anyways, thank you so much, here's a tip — and he goes, 'You need to smile more' and I said, 'I didn't ask.'
"Then I went to go grab my bag, tip the girl … I walked by him… and he goes, 'You're not nice,' and I said a not nice word."
(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
A couple things here.
First, a quick rant: Never tell a woman to smile. It is, hands down, the most annoying thing we females have to hear from strangers all the time. And we all hate it.
Here we are — sitting at the airport, grocery shopping, just existing — and some dude we don't even know comes up and tells us, "Smile!"
"Don't tell me to smile, I'm hungry!" Andrews exclaimed on the podcast.
Andrews added that if she were a man, people wouldn't talk to her like that. And she's absolutely right. Guarantee that guy wouldn't tell Al Michaels or Kevin Burkhardt to smile more. And I'm fairly certain no man reading this article has ever received this request from a stranger, either.
(Photo by Jason Mendez/WireImage)
Second, one might argue that, as a famous person, Erin Andrews should expect for fans to approach her. And I'm sure she understands that.
But there's a difference between a respectful fan interaction and downright rudeness.
For example, the guy in the stands could have waited until she finished her conversation with Mayfield before asking for a photo. Airport man could have said, "Hey, you're Erin Andrews. You do great work!" and then let her finish her dinner instead of giving her unsolicited advice.
In the end, no one feels sorry for Erin. She has a great job and gets paid handsomely to do it. An unruly fan here and there is bound to happen.
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