Pamela Anderson brands Pam & Tommy creators ‘a**holes’: ‘You still owe me a public apology’
Pamela Anderson says she ‘refuses’ to watch the 2022 TV mini-series about her 1995 leaked sex tape (Getty/Erin Simpkin/Hulu)
A year after Hulu series Pam & Tommy came under fire for airing without Pamela Anderson’s consent, the actress and model has branded the creators “a**holes”.
Pam & Tommy starring Lily James and Sebastian Stan tells the story of Anderson’s 1995 leaked sex tape with then-husband Tommy Lee and the subsequent fallout that plagued Anderson’s career for years to come.
Despite backlash at the time for being created against Anderson’s wishes and reportedly forcing her to relive her ‘very painful’ trauma, the series received 10 Emmy nominations.
Now, the former Baywatch star is ready to tell her side of the story in upcoming Netflix documentary Pamela, A Love Story. Ahead of the film’s release on 31 January she’s shared how she coped with having very personal events dramatised for television in Pam & Tommy.
“It was just shocking,” she told Variety, “Tommy probably thought it was funny.
“I remember Tommy writing me a note saying, “Don’t let this hurt you like it did the first time,” because he had heard through the kids [Brandon Thomas and Dylan Jagger] that I was kind of struggling with the idea of bringing this all up again.
“I don’t think he was portrayed kindly. I just know that I refuse to watch it.”
Anderson also shared a mantra she used to repeat while doing the food shop: “Hold your head high. Walk out the door. I know everybody’s seen me having sex, but I’m just here to get some cereal for my kids. Just keep on going.”
Branding Pam & Tommy‘s creators “a**holes” who “still owe me a public apology”, she described the series as “salt on the wound”.
Despite her frustration, Anderson decided to extend an “olive branch” to Lily James by inviting her to the premiere of the documentary, which was created with Anderson’s close involvement.
“I’ve got nothing against Lily James”, she said. “I think that she’s a beautiful girl and she was just doing the job. But the idea of the whole thing happening was just really crushing for me.”
Last year, James told Porter she had been “really hopeful that [Anderson] would be involved” in the making of Pam & Tommy.
“I wish it had been different”, the Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again star said. “My sole intention was to take care of the story and to play Pamela authentically.
“I’ve never worked so hard. I read the books [Anderson] has written, I read her poetry, I can parrot along to all her interviews.”
Pamela, A Love Story will be available to stream on Netflix on 31 January
