Full Recap: Pamela, a love story
In case you don't get around to watching this lovely 1 hour and 52 minute doc, here is a full detailed outline of what went down. If you plan on watching, maybe read this afterwards
I was today years old when I found out Pamela Anderson was Canadian - that's kind of cool. Stars who rise in Los Angeles make me assume they too are Californians from the jump ( I know how Californian of me). I've always been a fan of hers ever since Baywatch days. And to my recollection, she's never been a problematic person - just confident with her body and fell in love many, many times. But who here hasn't? I took the time to write out a detailed outline of her documentary. I have this newfound respect for her as I learned how the media, late-night talk shows, and a lot of men, put her through the wringer and clearly had no understanding of the word: Consent. Don't worry this isn't an anti-men post, but you can't help but notice the lost of respect she received from them - including the Judge and lawyers during her deposition. Going forward, I hope you enjoy this overview and I recommend watching it if you get the chance. Let’s go:
Pamela Anderson grew up in Ladysmith, Canada. She was a gymnast and tiny for her age and felt she was a late bloomer. Sadly, around the age of 12/13, Pamela was abused by her female babysitter. She told no one and protected her little brother from the abuse. With that came a lot of shame and she wished the babysitter dead. Luckily, the very next day, the babysitter died in a car crash. Pamela journaled a lot - she has a few bins worth of journals from her teen years and up. She journaled a lot so she wouldn't forget the memories. She often wrote on yellow pads as well. Her parents were toxic with each other and that's what she saw growing up and felt that was part of why she was drawn to the bad-boy type. In fact, she was even kicked out of a moving car - it was that bad.
Before her career started in LA, Pamela attended a BC Lions Canadian football game in the summer of 1989, shown on the big screen, and was brought down to the field. Next thing you know, she signed a modeling contract with Labatt and then appeared in Playboy a few months later.
They tried to fly her to LA, but she was Canadian and didn't have a passport. Instead, she ended up taking the Greyhound into Seattle - then flew to LA. Pamela arrived at the Playboy mansion and felt average. That is when she dyed her hair blonde. In her journals, she wrote about gaining her power back with her body when she posed for Playboy because she was in control. Her mother supported her endeavors 100%
Of course, she rose to fame and the interviews started to happen regularly. Pamela felt she always told the truth in interviews and was puzzled why the men always asked her about her body and boobs. They would ask her about plastic surgery and she'd answer honestly but felt the interviewers crossed a line asking personal questions like that on national tv. After the media attention and rise to fame, Baywatch called around 1992 and she journaled about how she was finally living the dream and couldn't wait to buy her mom a house. This was around the time to got a dog and met Tommy Lee.
Tommy Lee was a rocker with a bad-boy image she couldn't let go of. Before they became official, he would call her constantly while she was shooting for Baywatch and Playboy. The busier Pamela was, the more thirsty he became.
Long story short:
They got married after 4 days
Felt their love was explosive
And it caused the paparazzi to go nuts
Pamela found out she was pregnant while filming. Instead of resting, she constantly worked on her feet and miscarried. They tried again and the Paparazzi stalked her and waited outside their home to capture images of her baby - creepy shit. During this time they were remodeling the house and noticed the safe was stolen. In that safe, was personal items, and Tommy's guns in this safe.One day in the mail, they received a package wrapped in brown paper. It was their private VHS sex tape from their honeymoon. The robbers edited the tape to fit their narrative.
The tape was distributed all over the Internet and they even received a letter from Bob (owner of Penthouse) offering them 5 million for it. Back then in the early 2000's they (being celebrities) didn’t know how to navigate this situation. This was way before Paris Hilton and Kim K, back when you sold your tape for more fame. Later, some girl was impersonating Pamela to sell the tape. It was a huge invasion of their privacy. IEG sold the tape without their consent and they sued.
During the depositions, the Judge, and lawyers, told her she didn't have the right to privacy because she posed for Playboy (stupid right?). They were exploited and in the courtroom, they showed a lot of naked pics of her and the lawyer pretty much didn’t give her a right to privacy cause of it. This entire ordeal took years to get through and they lost their right to the private video. Of course, Tommy wasn't treated the same way she was. He was the rockstar and this was part of the package.
Red flags of their marriage:
Tommy was always there
He was a jealous man and at that time, she confused it with love
He was always around and never gave her space
He experienced postpartum, and felt he was alone while she was busy working. He got really aggressive with her
She called 911
He served six months in jail
Next chapter in her life:
She noticed she felt blacklisted after her failed marriage and sex tape that was stolen from her, spread all over the Internet. Although people treated her horribly in the spotlight, her pets loved her - a mans best friend, right? She became an advocate with PETAMedia, went vegetarian, and had the chance to meet Vladimir Putin - not about war, but instead to stop the import of seal byproducts. Through that connection, is how to she met Julian Assuage (wiki leak dude). Her son's who she loves deeply weren't enjoying the media outtakes about Julian and told her they were not wanting that kind of attention.
While her sons were getting older, they were made fun of and bullied because of the sex tape. Pamela never monetized the video + she wasn't great with money. She was a giver and was never business oriented. She just wanted her card to work and to get her nails done.
Always searching for love:
She co-parented with Tommy for 18 years
Married Kid Rock although it was never true love
Married Rick Solomon who was a pro poker player - but a drug addict
He got sober, and they married again and divorced shortly after
Dated a french soccer player who was physically abusive. She found that the more confident she became and let these dudes know that she choose to be with them vs needing them - They became aggressive. It's like they imagined this Playboy persona and when reality hit, they were no longer kind and gentle
Pamela sometimes gave herself shit for not staying with the father of her boys - Tommy. She felt she failed the relationship, and rather be alone than not with the father of her kids. Then Hulu made a show without her permission. Of course, Tommy didn't care and didn't mind the attention. She felt this feeling all over again - her consent was never given.
She started to feel restless until one day, she was contacted to be the main star of the broadway show, Chicago. She's in her 50s and felt blessed to receive this opportunity. She was not only gorgeous but funny and carried a note. In a way, this was her redemption arc.
If you made it this far - thank you for taking the time to read this. Till this day she never found out who stole the tape spite what Hulu wrote for the show. I feel bad that she was treated like an object simply because she wanted to pose for Playboy - that was her choice and there was no reason to judge her for that or to treat her like a caricature.