Pamela Anderson has said she felt “violated” by the makers of the new TV series about her infamous sex tape, but she does not blame Lily James for portraying her in the show.
The Hulu miniseries, titled Pam & Tommy, chronicles the whirlwind romance of Baywatch star Anderson and Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, played by Sebastian Stan, and the theft of their intimate video which was leaked on the internet in 1997 after being stolen from their home.
The series was later nominated for a string of Emmy and Golden Globe Awards, including best actor and actress nods for James and Stan for both award shows.
In a new interview with The Guardian, actress and model Anderson has said she feels “violated” by the makers of the show, Hulu, who she claims never got in touch with her, asking: “How are they allowed to do that?”
On James, she added: “I heard she’d been nominated for an Emmy, but maybe that was a joke.
“It’s not her fault; it’s a job. But whoever created it – well, it just feels like something else stolen.”
The series was created for Hulu and premiered on the network as well as being released on the streaming service Disney+.
James previously told US outlet Deadline that she had not heard from Anderson about the series, saying: “I have to respect that boundary. All we wanted to do was shine a light on this story and reveal it.
“It’s the ugly truth really of how awful what happened to them was, and every second of it, we were on Pamela’s side.”
In the in-depth interview with The Guardian, Anderson reflects on her tumultuous relationship with Lee and other partners in her life, which she has documented in her upcoming memoir Love, Pamela, and the Netflix documentary Pamela, A Love Story, which will launch on January 31.
The 55-year-old admitted there were challenges with her relationship with Lee, who she married in 1995, including him being “so jealous” of her interacting with other men, saying: “I thought that’s what love is.”
She added: “But the love of my life was Tommy. And I know it wasn’t perfect but, you know, no-one’s perfect.
“Oh OK, perfect for me. Two imperfect, crazy people. We made two beautiful babies and so I don’t have any regrets.”
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In 1998, Lee was sentenced to six months in Los Angeles County Jail for battering Anderson and the couple later divorced.
The pair had two sons, Brandon, 26 and Dylan Lee, 25, who Anderson has said encouraged her to make the new documentary so people could understand who she really was.
“They didn’t deserve all the drama. But, despite the gene pool, they’re perfect gentlemen,” she said.
“Looking at them today I get a little choked up because they’re such good men.”
Throughout her life, she was also married and later divorced a number of times to Kid Rock, Rick Salomon, Jon Peters and Dan Hayhurst.
She revealed that in January 2022, she gave herself a goal: “Don’t meet any men. Just focus … just be in love with myself.”
During that time, the actress and former Playboy Playmate worked on the memoir and documentary which will tell her story from her perspective.
Reflecting on the past year of being “alone”, she added: “I haven’t been near my friends hardly at all, either.
“The capacity to be alone is the capacity to love, right? But this is going to be good for me.
“I’m going to be able to get through it, because now with the documentary and the book, people will see the whole character. And then – maybe – I can become a human being again.”
Hulu has been contacted for comment.
The full interview can be read in The Guardian.
