Pamela Anderson is thinking back on the sex tape scandal from 1995.
The actress opened up about the controversy in a new interview, sharing that she was deeply hurt that the video got leaked at the time. She also pointed out that the video was not meant for anyone else to see and that she chose not to watch it.
The tape was spotlighted recently by Hulu’s series “Pam and Tommy.” Anderson recently revealed that the show’s focus on the controversy made her feel sick and spurred her to take charge of her story.
Read on to learn more.
‘I’ve Not Seen It To This Day’
Speaking with CBS Sunday Morning’s Jim Axelrod, Anderson opened up about several intimate details of her personal life, including her sex tape incident that went viral in 1995, per People.
She acknowledged that while people might have varying views, they should understand “that it was stolen property” and was only for the view of her and Tommy Lee, her partner at the time.
“I mean, we were naked all the time and filming each other and being silly, but those tapes were not meant for anybody else to see,” the actress said in a preview of the interview, which airs on Sunday.
Reflecting further, Anderson said that she had chosen not to watch the risqué video, which was stolen by a former employee and uploaded for the world to see.
“And I’ve not seen it to this day,” Anderson remarked before saying, “It was very hurtful.”
Pamela Anderson Says Being A Mother Saved Her
On how she was able to survive the damaging effects of the leak, Anderson shared that being a mother helped her scale through that tough time.
“I was a mother. That saved me,” said Anderson, who shared two sons with Lee, Brandon, 26, and Dylan, 25. “You know, if I wasn’t a mom, I don’t think I would’ve survived.”
Hulu’s critically acclaimed series, “Pam & Tommy,” has drawn a lot of attention to the sex tape in recent years. The show focused on the tumultuous three-year marriage between the duo Lee, especially with regard to the infamous sex tape they had secretly made during their honeymoon at Lake Mead.
Anderson, who was not involved in its production, is now fully committed to telling her own truth in her upcoming memoir Love, Pamela and Netflix documentary, “Pamela, A Love Story,” which she came on the interview to promote.
Pamela Anderson Wants ‘To Take Control Of The Narrative’
In a trailer ahead of the release of her Netflix documentary, the actress broke her silence on the resurrection of her sex tape in “Pam &Tommy.”
The former Baywatch star, who was previously mum about her feelings over her portrayal in “Pam and Tommy,” seized the opportunity to get a lot off her chest.
“I blocked that stolen tape out of my life in order to survive. Now that it’s all coming up again, I feel sick,” Anderson said in a scene, per Mirror. “I want to take control of the narrative for the first time. I didn’t feel like I had a lot of respect.
She then lauded her fighting spirit and resilience, that has helped her overcome all the “crazy” situations she found herself in the past.
She added, “I had to make a career out of the pieces left. But I’m not the damsel in distress. I put myself in crazy situations and survived them.”
‘Pamela, A Love Story’
The actress has put her all into making the upcoming documentary a success, as described by its director, Ryan White.
The filmmaker informed People in an interview that the sex idol gave him and his team “carte blanche to use the archival” so that the story could be told in the best possible way.
White described his relationship with her on set and said Anderson was “very experiential and always on the move.” He added, “I describe her like a fairy, always floating. So when it came to shooting, she was up for anything because she loves an adventure.”
The director also shared that she chose to play no part in influencing the film, leaving it all in the hands of the crew.
White said, “in regards to the edit, she didn’t play any role at all. She has no interest in seeing the final film because, for her it’s all about the experience of making something and staying in that moment.”
