Pam and Tommy is said to have brought up “complex trauma” for Pamela Anderson, who reportedly felt “violated” by the Hulu miniseries.
Posted 10 minutes ago
This year’s Emmy nominations were announced on Tuesday, with Inheritance, Ted Lassoand The white lotus leading the way.
Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Hulu’s controversial miniseries, Pam and Tommyalso received 10 nominations across all fields — with four in the ceremony’s top categories.
The show is a contender for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, and its leads – Sebastian Stan and Lily James – are nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress for their respective roles as Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson.
Additionally, Seth Rogen is nominated in the Best Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series category.
Despite its success and acclaim from fans and critics alike, Pam and Tommy has been mired in controversy after it was reported that Pamela felt “violated” by the unauthorized retelling of her exploits.
Nurphoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The eight-part series revisits the distribution without consent of Pamela and Tommy’s stolen sex tape in the 1990s, and was made without the approval of the real-life people involved in the historic crime.
Courtney Love was among Pamela’s pals to speak out against the series, revealing that it dredged up ‘complex trauma’ for Baywatch an actor. A source said Pamela feels “raped to this day” by the sex tape.
Another told Entertainment Tonight: “The upcoming Pam and Tommy The Hulu series was very painful for Pamela Anderson and everyone who loves her. It’s shocking that this series was allowed to happen without her approval.
Stefan Cardinale – Corbis / Corbis via Getty Images
As a result, people were understandably outraged at the sheer irony of Hulu not getting Pamela’s consent before retelling the story of her non-consensual sex tape.
The show was seen as a sign of “history repeating itself” and its creators were called out for an apparent attempt to “profit” from exploiting Pamela and Tommy a second time.
As it aired, Pamela’s lack of approval left a sour taste in viewers’ mouths, despite Pam and Tommy was ultimately praised for highlighting the misogyny Pamela faced as a result of the leak.
Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage
Series executive producer DV DeVincentis previously told Variety, “With Pamela Anderson, what I always come back to is that [she and Tommy] they were doing exactly the same thing. And photographed doing the exact same thing together.
“One of them was slut-shamed and basically put out of business and turned into a frivolous person,” DeVincentis said of Pamela’s experience. “The other one got a new act and became this sex god. And the only difference between these two people [was] their gender. It is.”
Pamela hasn’t spoken out about the show, but she seemed to confirm that she didn’t agree with the concept when she shared a brief statement on her Instagram page in March, shortly before the penultimate episode of Pam and Tommy emitted.
Bruce Glikas / Bruce Glikas / WireImage
In the post, Pamela announced that she was working with Netflix to make a documentary about her life, which vowed to tell her “true story.”
Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images
In a handwritten note, Pamela told fans: “My life. Thousands of imperfections. A million misconceptions. Wicked, wild and lost. Nothing to live for. I can only surprise you. Not a victim, but a survivor. And alive to tell the true story.”
While a launch date has yet to be announced, Pamela’s documentary is expected to be released on the streaming giant before the end of the year.
Edward Berthelot/Getty Images
Fans took Pamela’s statement as evidence that she disapproves Pam and Tommy by no means, so they were puzzled when they noticed Sebastian Stan had tagged her in an Instagram post about the success of Tuesday’s Emmy show.
Philip Faraone/Getty Images
Sebastian wrote a lengthy statement on his social media page that began, “I am so grateful and excited to be a part of this EPIC recognition of PAM AND TOMMY!!!!”
He then thanked the show’s host, directors, hair and make-up team and costume designers, before congratulating his co-star Lily James. “My partner to the end of the line…” he said of Lily. “I was blessed to be against you, I couldn’t, I wouldn’t have done it without you! Thank you for taking my hand on this journey!!”
And the last part of Sebastian’s statement sparked a backlash from readers, with the actor writing: ‘#PAMANDTOMMY is about non-consensual crime. It was a crime against privacy, a crime against love, a crime against family and a crime that we were ALL guilty of, as media and public together, and it’s more timely now than ever.”
“I hope this can only help further the conversation we were hoping to bring to light,” Sebastian continued. “And that we can remember to examine our projections and lewd attitudes not only towards @pamelaanderson and @tommylee but towards ourselves and our exploitation of each other. SEE YOU AT THE EMIS.”
A screenshot of the post was shared on a Reddit forum, and the actor’s decision to tag Pamela in the post quickly came under scrutiny — as did his comment about everyone being “guilty” of the original crime.
“Strange how my ‘indecent attitude’ didn’t get me on a show further exploiting Pam, who specifically stated she was not for this production. Deaf dumb ass,” one person wrote.
“He also tagged Pamela Anderson who found the experience traumatic,” added someone else. “Also, mind you, this show introduced a whole new generation of people who watched this sex tape. So, in short, they are complicit. This is their contribution to the conversation.”
“He has enough guts to talk about consent, something Pamela didn’t give on this show,” another opined. Someone else commented: “Poor Pamela. He actually tagged her. Wtf.” One person responded: “Really, that was actually a nasty thing.”
Others pointed to the fact that Sebastian admitted to watching Pamela and Tommy’s sex tape as “research” during an appearance on a British daytime show This morning.
Fraser Harrison/Getty Images
The host, Josie Gibson, asked Sebastian and Lily if they had watched the tape themselves, to which Sebastian said: “Well, it was research. I think the job as an actor is to find as much as you can about the people you’re playing.”
“And he was watching the ‘research’ tape, but sure Seb, tell yourself we’re all guilty,” one Reddit user said of his Instagram post. Someone else wrote: “Knowing he watched the tape for ‘research purposes’ when one of the victims found it traumatic, that’s disgusting coming from him.”
“No I am not [a culprit]said another. “I didn’t steal the tape. I never watched the tape. And I certainly never did a show for the tape so I could be nominated for an Emmy.
“Oh my god, he’s talking about consent while celebrating a nomination for a show made without the victim’s consent, and the scary thing is, he really thinks he’s doing something grand!! Disturbing,” echoed another user.
Sebastian has yet to respond to the backlash and Buzzfeed News has reached out to his representative for comment.
Pamela hasn’t confessed to Sebastian…
Add Comment