Those Close To Pamela Anderson Say Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy” Is Re-Traumatizing Her
Are you watching Hulu’s new series, Pam & Tommy? It’s a one-stop shop for an aggressively sexy and deeply iconic mid-90s aesthetic. But one person who isn’t watching is Pamela Anderson herself. It was made pretty clear early on that Pamela isn’t exactly thrilled about Hulu turning her illegal sex tape theft into prestige TV. And it sounds like she hasn’t changed her mind one bit. According to one source who spoke to People, Pam still isn’t into her trauma being splashed across TV screens.
Not long after the first pictures were released from production on Pam & Tommy last year, Pam’s friend Courtney Love slammed the project, saying that Pam’s stolen sex tape, filmed in 1995 on her honeymoon with her then-husband Tommy Lee and then stolen and distributed without her consent by a disgruntled contractor, “destroyed” her friend’s life. Courtney also said that she banned all talk of the sex tape in recording studios at the time and that she denied approval for Hulu’s request to have her December 1994 Rolling Stone magazine in the series. We’re now hearing from a new source close to Pam, and they’re pretty much giving off the same vibe as Courtney.
Hulu’s new series, Pam & Tommy is revisiting “a very traumatic time” of Pamela Anderson’s life, a source tells PEOPLE.
The source, who was close to the situation at the time, says “there’s a sense that the show is re-exploiting Pamela.”
“After the tape was made public, it was a very traumatizing situation and it’s unfair that she is being re-subjected to this trauma, like re-opening a wound,” the source says.
“Pamela deserves a level of respect. She’s a human being and a mom. There’s a sense of hypocrisy about it. It’s her life and she should have the decision [as to] whether it’s turned into a commodity for public consumption,” the source continues.
Lily James, who plays Pam in the eight-episode series, says she tried to reach out to Pam prior to filming, adding that she really wanted to make sure she told Pam’s story with respect. And, even if you haven’t seen the first episode, the trailer makes it pretty clear that Pam is unquestionably the victim in this story. Still, it sounds like the only call Pam wanted to receive from Lily was one where Lily announced she had quit the project and burned every script on the way out.
“When [the leaked sex tape] happened, there were paparazzi following her and always outside of her home. She was not seeking any more attention – she had enough,” the source says. “If you go back to her Playboy [cover], she always had the perspective that that was her conscious choice. But somebody taking her personal home movie, that was not her choice. When someone steals your home movie, that is criminal and that’s a violation. That was her privacy.”
So Pam sees there’s a very big distinction between choosing to have your stuff out there, and having someone steal it from you without your consent. Hmmm, maybe someone could go back in time a few years and present this information to Pam before she gave her victim-blaming thoughts about the #MeToo movement?
The source adds that Pam truly just wants to move on and have a nice life.
“This was a very traumatic time of her life. She’s a really good person and I think all she’s really ever wanted was to be married and have a partner and have a nice life.”
Sadly, the “married with a partner” part of Pam’s dream isn’t working out either. Pam recently split from her fourth husband, Dan Hayhurst, after a year of marriage. So maybe Hulu will release a statement, saying they are sorry Pam feels re-traumatized by the show. Because Pam has already been through enough – she was married to Kid Rock, after all.
Pic: INSTAR