By: Sophia Alayna
This article contains mentions of sexual assault
The 90s is a prominent and romanticized era for Gen Z, and I’d say iconic and memorable for those who grew up during that time. Everyone talks about the fashion, the movies, and the celebrities of the 90s. So much of that decade has lasted into the present.
Unfortunately, a part of the 90s that did not go untouched is seen in Hulu’s original series Pam & Tommy. The series is based off of Pamela Anderson and her then-husband Tommy Lee, and the contents of their scandal. The media was buzzing about the cast which included Sebastian Stan as Lee and Lily James as Anderson. However, Pamela was not notified or asked about the film and had to have viewers, old and new, witness a very traumatic time in her life.
This month, Netflix released Pamela: A Love Story in which Pamela herself gets a chance to talk about herself, her life, the scandal, and most importantly, where she is now.
I personally did not know much about Pamela until I heard about Pam & Tommy, so I took the Netflix documentary as an opportunity to learn about her in the truest form possible.
Pamela was born and raised in Canada to parents who fought. She remembers protecting her sibling, not only from seeing the arguments, but also later on from being molested by their nanny. That experience and an assault later in her life, affected how she saw herself and her sexuality.
She wanted to see and experience more than what she was living, and in the late 80s, she was spotted at a Football game, and received the opportunity to be a spokesmodel. After that, she got the call from Playboy, who wanted her to be on their next cover. From that moment, Pamela’s career began and she got her wish of breaking out of her day-to-day life.
When shooting for Playboy, the prior feelings regarding her body and her sexuality somewhat went away as she reclaimed herself through the photoshoot. Unbeknownst to her, that was her way of taking her power back.
She continued with Playboy for a while before deciding that she wanted to pursue being an actress. After some push and pull, she agreed to be in the hit TV show, Baywatch. Pamela enjoyed working on the beach, which didn’t feel like working after a while, and wanted to broaden her horizons.
During a break from Baywatch, she met Tommy Lee while filming a movie. He called her repeatedly to see her again, but she told him she was leaving for Mexico as part of her film. He showed up in Mexico, she later agreed to meet him, and after four days they were married. As it was the 90s, of course those four days as well as the wedding was documented on film. Their wedding party consisted of those who were on the Mexico trip with them, and they wore a white bikini and swim shorts. Not the typical, traditional wedding one might except, but it was perfect for them.
A whirlwind romance, Pamela loved Tommy with all of her heart. During it all though, they had an intimate tape stolen from their home and distributed to Penthouse magazine, and later the entire internet.
The scandal took a lot out of Pamela. When it began, she learned that she was pregnant with what would’ve been her first child. Unfortunately, the stress of the scandal caused her to miscarry. She was filming a movie, Barb Wire, at the same time and going back to work was not easy or something to look forward to. Since she threw herself into her work as a distraction, and with the scandal looming over her, Pamela never got the chance to fully grieve the loss of her child.
She eventually went to trial, where she was ostracized by the court. Naked pictures of her were blown up and she was essentially told that she doesn’t have the right to her body since she seems so comfortable being naked, referencing her Playboy shoots. Pamela said that brought back feelings of being assaulted all over again.
She did give birth to two boys (1996 & 1997) and had some difficulty raising them while the trial of her scandal remained ongoing. Anderson and Lee were told that they could sign an agreement which stated that they were the ones who released the tape. They refused, as it was not true, and ultimately the case fell through. Lee and Anderson had marital problems, some dealing with abuse which led Lee to go to jail for a while. Eventually, they divorced and were able to develop a good co-parenting relationship.
After the scandal, Pamela was not able to get substantial roles. They weren’t what she wanted and she was typecast, as well as made fun of on talk shows. However, Pamela decided to put her image into what she cares about: animal rights. She has made many campaigns and appearances on television to get her activism afloat for her cause.
Today, Pamela is happy. She was on Broadway in 2022 and was a hit. Pamela is healing, she has no regrets. Pamela loves love, and she is taking this time to fall in love with herself.
I’d say there’s a bit of Pamela in all of us. Carefree, giving, loving and passionate. There’s always something to learn about others and about yourself. Taking the time to love yourself isn’t always easy, but it’s the best feeling in the world. Once you love yourself, you are truly unstoppable.