It’s safe to say Pamela Anderson will never be tuning in to see how her infamous past was portrayed in Hulu’s new series Pam & Tommy.
Just after the first three episodes of the scandalous new series dropped on the streamer, a source is speaking out on behalf of the star to share how she really feels about a whole new set of eyes exploiting her romance for profit. Chatting with People on Wednesday, an insider explained that the show is revisiting “a very traumatic time” in Anderson’s past.
If you don’t know, Pam & Tommy follows Pamela and her then-husband Tommy Lee as they become the center of attention when an hour-long sex tape they filmed during their honeymoon was stolen by a former employee and leaked to the public. Discussing the eight-episode limited series, the confidant, who was close to the situation back in the late ‘90s, told the outlet:
“There’s a sense that the show is re-exploiting Pamela.”
No kidding!
Related: Lily James Spent HOW LONG Each Day Getting Ready To Play Pamela Anderson?!
The source went on to slam the producers and all those involved with creating the exploitative series for “re-opening a wound” the now-54-year-old has worked so hard to move past from, adding:
“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 confidant also believes that if a story was going to be told about the sex tape scandal, the real people involved should have had a hand in telling it, continuing:
“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.”
Yeah, it is pretty ironic that she didn’t make a dime off her stolen tape and now she won’t make a profit off the re-telling of the dramatic situation. Not cool. The actress first grew famous for her role on Baywatch, and then more eyes were drawn to her when she married the musician. But nothing could have prepared her for the frenzy she would get wrapped up in after the tape was released, the source noted:
“Then 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.”
It’s not like the attention was the problem — she was a celebrity, after all, she knew that would come with the territory. It was the fact that her personal life was being slandered without her control, the insider reflected:
“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.”
Sadly, but as to be expected, this time in her life was “traumatic,” the source explained:
“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.”
As mentioned, the first three episodes of Pam & Tommy aired earlier this week. They follow the couple’s four-day courtship ahead of their Mexico wedding in 1995 leading to the creation of their sex tape. Back in the day, Anderson and Lee attempted to stop the release by suing the distributor, Internet Entertainment Group.
Related: How Tommy Lee REALLY Feels About Sebastian Stan Playing Him In Pam & Tommy
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. While they reached a confidential settlement, the tape was released anyway. Anderson recalled on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in 2015:
“I’ve never seen it. I made not one dollar. It was stolen property. We made a deal to stop all the shenanigans.”
Adding why she decided to stop fighting in court, the mom of two continued:
“I was seven months pregnant with [son] Dylan and thinking it was affecting the pregnancy with the stress and said, ‘I’m not going to court anymore. I’m not being deposed anymore by these horny, weird lawyer men. I don’t want to talk about my vagina anymore or my public sex — anything.’”
Can’t blame her there. That sounds awful. While the model has yet to address the Hulu series in public, she’s made her feelings pretty clear behind the scenes. Star Lily James told Net-a-Porter’s Porter earlier this month that she reached out to Pam in hopes that she would be involved in the project, but her message was ignored. Lily revealed:
“I was really hopeful that she would be involved. I wish it had been different. My sole intention was to take care of the story and to play Pamela authentically. I was very hopeful that we would be in touch right up until we started filming.”
Well, if that’s not indication enough Pam’s not a fan, we don’t know what is! Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Have U tuned into the series yet or do you plan to? Let us know in the comments (below)!
[Image via Hulu/Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen/YouTube]