Caution: Spoilers Ahead for Pam & Tommy episode 6.
Decades after the events depicted in Pam & Tommy, Pamela Anderson is still on the receiving end of questions and comments surrounding the infamous leaking of the former couple's sex tape and the subsequent lawsuit. In 1995, following a four-day affair, Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson married Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, and not long after, a homemade video detailing their honeymoon was stolen and released without their consent. As one of the biggest stars at the time, Anderson was adamant that the private tape must be contained, since any news about it would be damaging to her reputation and career. Putting an end to the scandal, unfortunately, involved suing a major publication, which led to traumatizing depositions.
Initially, Anderson and Lee were clueless about the extent of their dilemma, until the tape reached the hands of Bob Guccione, the founder of Penthouse, the adult magazine in direct competition with Hugh Hefner’s Playboy. As narrated in Pam & Tommy episode 5, through the arguably hasty urging of Lee and his lawyers, the couple sued Guccione for invasion of privacy. The lawsuit was filed preemptively, since Penthouse publishing stills from the video would eventually spell trouble for Anderson as the face of Playboy at the time. Although the couple filed the $10 million lawsuit together, only the actress was summoned for deposition.
Anderson’s harrowing deposition in 1996 was relived in Pam & Tommy episode 6, titled “Pamela in Wonderland”. In the Hulu show’s reenactment, the Barb Wire lead was forced to answer violating questions concerning her past, her sexuality, and motives. In real life, records of what actually transpired during said depositions were not released to the public, although Anderson’s numerous comments over the years hinted at a similar real-life experience. She described her ordeal after the tape leaked in Tommy Lee’s autobiography Tommyland, noting how she could not handle sitting through depositions and seeing disgusting old men “hold up pictures of me naked in Playboy and ask why I’d even care that the tape was out there”. Despite being a public figure for most of her life, Anderson drew the line at discussing her body parts and sexual activities just to insist on her right to privacy.
Moreover, Pam & Tommy showed the actress being coerced to watch their own tape, but this did not actually happen. In fact, in a 2015 interview with Andy Cohen, Anderson revealed that she had never actually seen the tape. “I made not one dollar. It was stolen property,” she added. She also explained why she and Lee decided to just settle the lawsuit. At the time of her depositions, Anderson was already seven months pregnant with her second son, Dylan. She then stopped attending the depositions to avoid the stress brought on by the legal proceedings and harassment she was constantly receiving. Of course, the true story behind Pam & Tommy was slightly different, as the show took liberty in revising some of the events. But, it still seemed like, in reality, Anderson had to undergo several depositions first before officially quitting.
In May 1997, Anderson and Lee’s lawsuit against Penthouse, which only brought more mainstream attention to their tape, was rejected. The decision was made based on Anderson’s history with Playboy and the Lees’ inclination to talk about their sex life publicly. While the court issued an injunction against Milton Ingley, forbidding him to sell more copies of the tape, Penthouse managed to find a loophole and printed Polaroids from the tape that were already published abroad. Thinking that agreeing to broadcast the tape would end their problems, Anderson and Lee signed away the copyright to Internet Entertainment Group founder Seth Warshavsky. Obviously, they failed to realize then just how powerful the Internet was. So after all the legal back-and-forth, the now-divorced Pam & Tommy became the stars of the world’s most infamous online sex tape, despite Pamela Anderson’s draining fight against it.
Pam & Tommy releases new episodes of the limited series every Wednesday on Hulu.