Pamela Anderson Slams 'Pam & Tommy' Series as a 'Halloween Costume'
Pamela Anderson never directly responded to Hulu's Pam & Tommy series, until now. Although the Baywatch icon never plans to watch the series, she says she is still owed a public apology for the products of the series. When she saw a billboard with stars Lily James and Sebastian Stan made up to look like herself and Tommy Lee, she said it "looked like a Halloween costume."
Pam & Tommy is an eight-episode Hulu series created by Robert Siegel that chronicled the impact of the leaked infamous sex tape featuring Lee and Anderson. It was based on a 2014 Rolling Stone article about the controversy, which helped usher in the celebrity tabloid era. The series earned positive reviews and 10 Emmy nominations. Anderson remained quiet on the show, but a source told Entertainment Weekly in February 2022 that she would "never, never" watch it.
When Variety asked Anderson to describe the people who made Pam & Tommy, she described them as "a-holes" who just put "salt on the wound." She said they still "owe me a public apology." Anderson noted that Lee wrote her a note, telling her not to let the show affect her in the same way the real-life events did.
"It was just shocking," Anderson told Variety. "Tommy probably thought it was funny. I remember Tommy writing me a note saying, 'Don't let this hurt you like it did the first time,' because he had heard through the kids that I was kind of struggling with the idea of bringing this all up again. I don't think he was portrayed kindly. I just know that I refuse to watch it."
Anderson is finally opening up about the show as she gears up for the release of her memoir, Love, Pamela on Jan. 31. The documentary Pamela: A Love Story will be released on Netflix the same day. Anderson told Variety she wanted to invite James to the premiere to show she has nothing personal against the actress who played her in Pam & Tommy.
"I think it's hard to play somebody when you don't know the whole picture. I said to Netflix, 'I'd love to invite Lily to the premiere of the movie,'" Anderson told the magazine. "I've got nothing against Lily James. I think that she's a beautiful girl and she was just doing the job. But the idea of the whole thing happening was just really crushing for me."
In Love, Pamela, Anderson wrote about her first day of filming on Home Improvement with Tim Allen. She claims the comedian flashed her and told her they were "even," in reference to her Playboy photoshoots. Anderson was 23 at the time. Allen later denied the allegations.