It’s time for Pamela Anderson to speak her truth. In March, Netflix announced that Anderson is “ready to tell her story” in a new documentary, and today it’s been revealed that Pamela, a love story, is set to land on the streamer on Jan. 31.
When the Hulu mini-series Pam & Tommy debuted earlier this year, (which was green-lit without Anderson’s approval or consent) the Baywatch babe vowed to never watch it. Ever since it aired, Anderson hasn’t commented, but the forthcoming documentary will reportedly reveal the Barb Wire actress’ painful reaction to hearing the news of its creation.
Set amid the early days of the internet, Pam & Tommy chronicled the unhinged odyssey of the theft and subsequent release of Anderson’s and then-husband Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee’s private sex tape.
Anderson’s doc, directed by acclaimed auteur Ryan White (known for The Keepers, Good Night Oppy, and The Case Against 8), will include exclusive archival interviews and never-before-seen footage, as well as personal journal entries from Anderson.
The filmmaker told Vanity Fair of Anderson and Lee’s home movies. “The infamous stolen tape, which we’re always very careful to call ‘the stolen tape’ and not ‘sex tape,’ was just one of hundreds of hours that they filmed,” he said. “There’s no calculation with how [Anderson] thinks about these types of things. It’s all just about being raw and honest, for better or worse. It made for a really emotional film and I’m really grateful that I got to work with someone like that.”
White also revealed that Anderson’s sons (with whom she shares with Lee), Brandon, 26 (who is helping to produce the project) and Dylan, 24, encouraged their mother “to tell her story on her own terms. They adore their mother and really hate seeing her story being told by other people in a way that they don’t feel is authentic to who she is. Pamela, by nature, is an incredibly open and honest person. That’s perhaps why Pamela’s gotten burned a lot in her life, but I also think it’s what’s so lovable and infectious about her.”
The Broadway darling told the publication, “Brandon can talk me into anything with his sincere heart and a fierceness that only a son could have.” She said, “He wanted to tell my story, authentically and without distortion.”
Anderson and Lee met and married in the span of four days, tying the knot in Cancun, Mexico in 1995. The celebrity whirlwind romance that saturated headlines was met with a maelstrom of media attention after contractor Rand Gaultier (played by Seth Rogen) sought revenge by stealing the couple’s safe from their Malibu home after Lee previously fired him and allegedly threatened Gaultier with a firearm. After discovering the private recording within the stolen safe, Gaultier colluded with porn producer Milton “Uncle Miltie” Ingley to disseminate pirated VHS copies through the World Wide Web, as revealed in a bombshell Rolling Stone article.
“Nobody knew the truth—even I don’t know 100% of what happened,” said Anderson. “I think what is most important is to share my human feelings and how much it hurt and how it undeniably defined me moving forward—in my career and my relationships.”
After the tape’s release, Lee and Anderson were met with a glaring chasm of incongruent media encounters. Bearing the brunt of the shame and blame of it all, the Canadian actress and model was met with contempt, humiliation, and condemnation while Lee, by most regards, was considered the man.
After her victimization by the media, Anderson and Lee divorced after three years of marriage, and Lee served six months in jail for spousal battery after assaulting Anderson with their child in her arms.
While show runners claimed they hoped to shed a light on the unfair dynamic through the series, one has to consider what it means that the project has been conducted without Anderson’s approval or consent.
Close friend of Anderson’s Courtney Love was vocal about her opinion of the show, describing the release of the tape as “schadenfreude” (joy stemmed from another’s humiliation or troubles) and said the series has drudged up “complex trauma” for Anderson.
Pamela, a love story will be released on the same day as her new book, Love, Pamela. Available for pre-order now, the memoir will be published by HarperCollins and Dey Street Books on Jan. 31, 2023. “It feels like some kind of miracle — to be retracing the painful steps of my youth,” Anderson shared on Instagram. “I repainted scenes in detail, if it were my childhood or at the Playboy mansion.”
“Just one girl’s messy life,” she continued. “A celebration of imperfections. The book is an unpolished attempt. I had no co-writer. My life — as a mother, as an activist, and as an actress. I am so proud of this book. XO Pamela.”
