She discusses her book, Love, Pamela, which was published on January 31 and coincides with the release of her Netflix documentary, Pamela, A Love Story, on Netflix.
She stated to the publication that the book contains the phrase "Beginning to end, my first memory to my last."
In other words, it goes beyond the 54-minute home video she and then-husband Tommy Lee made as newlyweds in 1995. This video was stolen from a safe, cut down to eight minutes of sex scenes, and it was distributed via VHS in the early days of the internet. The tape didn't earn the couple any money.
She claims that she had the thought, "It was already hurtful enough the first time," when Hulu released Pam & Tommy last year, telling the story of the tape with Lily James playing her and Sebastian Stan playing the Mötley Crüe drummer. It's similar to one of those situations where you think, "Really? Are people still profiting from that?'
Anderson did not watch the show and did not respond to James' handwritten letter expressing her desire to honor her in the role and asking if they could speak. Actually, the 55-year-old Baywatch star and Playboy model did not even read James's letter. "A scanned copy of that letter still sits somewhere, unread in [Anderson's] inbox," it says.
Last year, Lily James portrayed Anderson on Hulu's Pam & Tommy.:
As for the narrative that the Hulu show would be correcting the historical narrative on Anderson's behalf when she was made into a punchline for the tape while her ex was seen as a masculine hero she said, "I mean, I’m probably a case study for any feminist."
But she did her own deep dive into her life to tell her story for the first time. It came about after she considered posting parts of her story on her website or just for her sons with Lee, Brandon and Dylan, to read. But Brandon, in the wake of Pam & Tommy, urged her to publish it and "I work for him," she joked. He is a co-producer on the doc for which she turned over her home videos, without reviewing them, and diaries.
She talks openly about things like growing up poor in Ladysmith, British Columbia, with a violent father and a mother who tried to leave him but never succeeded. She had an "unbearable" childhood, and she was abused multiple times. A babysitter assaulted her. Rape occurred in her first encounter with a man when she was approximately 13 and he was 10 years older. She was kicked out of a moving car by one boyfriend in high school, and another boyfriend let his friends assault her in the back of a car she "blocked out." She revealed in a speech she gave in 2014 to officially launch her Pamela Anderson Foundation that her first boyfriend in ninth grade raped her in a gang with six of his friends. She was "raped by a 25-year-old" during her first sexual encounter with a man. She also claimed that a babysitter who was between the ages of 6 and 10 abused her.)
Lee, Anderson's first husband, physically abused her after striking her while she was holding their son and serving time for felony spousal abuse. Despite their divorce in 1998, they continued to co-parent.
The NYT article says that she started posing naked in photo shoots as she tried to regain control of the industry. "I made the decision," she stated. "Gave some people the impetus, sadly, to treat me without respect," however, it also did.
She also talked about how she didn't know enough about business when she first started making deals, like for Baywatch, a show that was cancelled before she became a big star. She admitted that she was unaware of the lucrative syndication and merchandise licensing deals and that she lacked an agent or management.
She stated, "I was a little girl from Canada who came here and ran on a beach." Like, how do you suppose that would generate any revenue?" Even though she never felt like she was being given the opportunity to "really show what I am capable of," she was of the mind to be thankful for the opportunity.
According to Anderson, writing the book was the first time she had complete control over a project, from overseeing every aspect to carrying out copy edits. "It was truly life or death," she stated. I felt compelled to share my tale. Also, I really couldn't let anyone else do it.
Anderson is currently residing in a modest house that her grandmother once owned in her hometown of Canada. Her mother and father share a house that Anderson built for them on the property, and her father has changed over time.
The Netflix documentary will feature Lee (1995-1998), Kid Rock (2006-2007), Rick Salomon (2007-2008), Jon Peters (2020-2020), and Dan Hayhurst (2020-2022). However, Anderson jokingly stated to the New York Times that her selection of men has appeared to "progressively get worse" over the years. She split from Hayhurst, a construction worker who was working on her house during the pandemic, in January 2022. Since then, she has been single. It has been noted that this is the longest period of time she has ever been by herself.
On January 31, both the book and the documentary will be released.
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