Pamela Anderson Doesn't Blame Lily James For Pam & Tommy: 'It's Not Her Fault'

The British actor portrayed the Baywatch star in the 2021 drama about the theft of Pamela's private sex tape with ex-husband Tommy Lee.
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson
NDZ/Star Max via Getty Images

Pamela Anderson has insisted she doesn’t blame Lily James for portraying her in the controversial drama Pam & Tommy.

Last year, Lily took the lead in the miniseries centred around the Baywatch star’s previous marriage to musician Tommy Lee and the theft of their private sex tape in the late 1990s.

In an interview with The Guardian, Pamela said she felt “violated” by the makers of the show, Hulu, who she claimed never got in touch with her, asking: “How are they allowed to do that?”

On the subject of Lily, she continued: “I heard she’d been nominated for an Emmy, but maybe that was a joke.

“It’s not her fault; it’s a job. But whoever created it – well, it just feels like something else stolen.”

Lily James as Pamela in Pam & Tommy
Lily James as Pamela in Pam & Tommy
Disney/Erin Simkin/Hulu via PA Media

Lily previously told Deadline that she had not heard from Pamela about the series, saying: “I have to respect that boundary. All we wanted to do was shine a light on this story and reveal it.

“It’s the ugly truth really of how awful what happened to them was, and every second of it, we were on Pamela’s side.”

However, earlier this month, Pamela revealed she decided not to read an email she had received from Lily over the series.

She told the New York Times that she scanned a copy of the letter and left it unread in her inbox, deciding not to reply.

Lily with Pam & Tommy co-star Sebastian Stan, who played Tommy Lee in the drama
Lily with Pam & Tommy co-star Sebastian Stan, who played Tommy Lee in the drama
Kevin Mazur via Getty Images

Pam & Tommy director Craig Gillespie previously defended his decision to go ahead with the drama without Pamela’s blessing, telling Radio Times: “The thing that gave me comfort was I felt like we really had an opportunity to change the narrative of this story, and to show it from a perspective that people can hopefully learn and grow from.

“And I felt that we portrayed them in a very empathetic way. I thought the writers did a really nice job with that. So I felt that there was that opportunity, which was the hope.”

Pamela is set to further “set the record straight” in her own Netflix documentary – Pamela, A Love Story – which is released on 31 January.

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