Pam & Tommy director claims the miniseries gives Pamela Anderson a voice

11 February 2022, 17:09

Lily James talks about playing Pamela Anderson in Pam & Tommy

By Sam Prance

Pam & Tommy was made without Pamela Anderson's involvement or consent.

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Lake Bell, who directed episodes 4 and 7 of Pam & Tommy, claims that the Hulu miniseries gives Pamela Anderson a voice.

Ever since Pam & Tommy debuted on Disney+ last week (Feb 4), the TV show has been surrounded by controversy. Despite receiving rave reviews from critics, many people have criticised the miniseries. The series explores Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee's relationship and how they were treated after their sex tape was stolen and leaked without their consent.

The backlash stems from the fact that Pam & Tommy was created without Pamela's involvement or consent. A source close to Pamela recently told People: "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. Pamela deserves a level of respect."

Now, one of the directors behind the miniseries has defended the show and explained why they feel "protective" over it.

Pam & Tommy director claims the miniseries gives Pamela Anderson a voice. Picture: LANDMARK MEDIA / Alamy Stock Photo via Hulu

Speaking to Variety, Lake Bell said: "I feel very protective, almost, of this story. Pamela was being represented in a way that made me feel comfortable to participate, because I felt like it gave her voice in a time where at the time of the incident, there was no voice given. We have to be open and understand that yes, this is the narrative and it is a dramatization of a real event and occurrence and a massively traumatizing experience in this person’s life."

She then continued: "I think, for any lady working on it who has been in the public eye in some capacity, that was in the forefront of our mind — in, not only just how we represent this person, but how we are making commentary overtly and about the social and cultural kind of damage that had been done."

Pam & Tommy director claims that the miniseries gives Pamela Anderson a voice (2). Picture: LANDMARK MEDIA / Alamy Stock Photo

Lake added: "This is a real, living, breathing, multi-dimensional woman whose life was forever altered because of theft. And to boot, she was accused of releasing it herself. The audacity of this story, it makes you short of breath, because as a woman, you already feel so out of control within an industry that pushes and prods and pokes you from every direction whether you like it or not."

She ended by saying: "Then to have some unknown entity called the worldwide web to suck up your own personal property and broadcast it to the entire world — I mean, it’s beyond salt in the wound. I’m really interested in people finding their voice."

As it stands, Lake and the Pam & Tommy team at large are yet to respond directly to the backlash surrounding the series. However, much criticism argues that Pam & Tommy is once again exploiting Pamela for monetary gain.