One of the craziest stories during the pandemic was the Lily James-Dominic West affair. The photos of Lily and Dominic cavorting in Rome came out in October 2020. What followed was typical-yet-bonkers. Reports of Dominic’s estrangement from his wife Caitlin, followed by an awkward “photocall” with Dominic and Caitlin, followed by Dominic leaving a note for photographers claiming his marriage was fine. Lily went into hiding for a while as she was branded the “other woman” in Dominic’s marriage, and he reportedly had feelings for her too. In the end, West stayed married and Lily survived, and arguably thrived. She became more famous, she booked more work, like the miniseries Pam & Tommy. She was cast as Pam Anderson in the ‘90s, and Lily spoke to Porter Magazine about the project and how society is still pretty sexist and misogynistic.
She knows that not everything is at it seems: “I remember once going to the Berlin Film Festival in this amazing pink dress with all these diamonds, but I had an awful urine infection so had to leave the convoy of cars to run over to a petrol-station toilet. That’s my glamorous reality.”
She had doubts about pulling off Pam Anderson: “I just had no idea if I could do it. I’ve never worked so hard. I read the books [Anderson] has written, I read her poetry, I can parrot along to all her interviews. And then, of course, there was the physical transformation. Slowly, our incredible team found a balance where I resembled Pamela but also felt like I could act through it. I’ve never done anything where I look very different from myself before. And I’d really like to continue in this vein, because I felt there was something very freeing and liberating in it. There was a bravery that came from that. A courage that came from… disappearing.”
Returning to her natural self after playing Pam: “I hated it. It was like being stripped of all these superpowers! I’d really enjoyed the physicality and the sensuality, even down to the long fingernails. There was just so much character to hold on to – it was really thrilling.”
The misogyny Anderson faced: “It was exciting, thinking about what it meant to be a young woman at the height of her fame. When you look back at some of her interviews from the 1990s, the misogyny is so striking. I mean, it’s changed so much, but…” She lowers her voice, and I wonder if she’s thinking of the week in 2020 when a paparazzi photo of her with actor Dominic West led to James’s friends highlighting the media’s ‘slut-shaming’ of her. “I think it’s more hidden now, perhaps? Anyway, there was a lot in it that I found I could relate to.”
On the first celebrity ‘sex tape’: “The shaming was so extreme. Unfortunately, that’s still the case, don’t you think? Women are held to much higher standards and attacked in ways that feel so vicious. Pamela had such wit and grace in the way that she held herself. I admire that strength.”
On Pam’s lack of involvement: “This is the first interview I’ve done about this project, and I care a lot about it. I was really hopeful that she would be involved. I wish it had been different. My sole intention was to take care of the story and to play Pamela authentically.” Did she reach out to Anderson independently? “Yes. And I was very hopeful that we would be in touch right up until we started filming.”
Celebrity culture: “It provoked an internet and celebrity culture that, now, I believe is just way out of hand. There is no such thing as privacy now.” Instead of our videos being stolen from safes, “we’re handing them out, constantly sharing our lives – with an audience that doesn’t really care about you. And giving away information to corporations using it for profit. I know a time before that happened, but there are young girls who have no idea. This was a trigger moment that unintentionally sparked a new time… I hope a lot has changed. But sometimes it doesn’t feel like it’s changed quite enough.”
I come out of this interview feeling like Lily worked hard to honor what Pam went through, but I’m still concerned that the miniseries will treat it like a comedy, when really it was a horrific ordeal for Pam. Pam and Tommy both fought like hell to get control of the situation, and they were still fighting and suing their way to some kind of justice even years after the tape came out. Still, Lily did the work. I was surprised by how much voice work she did to sound like Pam, and she apparently wore a chest plate to recreate Pam’s famous curves. As for the oblique references to the West scandal… it’s not exactly comparable, but I get what she’s saying. And honestly, society is still very sexist (I’m proud that our coverage mostly focused on Dominic West being a sleaze though).
Cover & Instagram courtesy of Porter Magazine.
isn’t her concern about the misogyny Anderson faced a little ironic considering her willingness to participate in the making of this exploitative show knowing Anderson was not even asked if she was OK with this (and has made it clear she is not OK with it)?
Definitely. Whatever high ideals she may have had about playing Anderson, James is still just another in a long line of people who have exploited Anderson and denied her her own voice in telling her story.
+1 This is all I can think about, and can’t bring myself to watch it. Had Pam been on board for this to be made or were involved in writing/production, I would have watched in a heartbeat, having lived through the original incidents in the 90s!! I’m the target audience who would care about a celebrity scandal that happened in my formative late teens, but knowing that this she is not on board just makes this whole production yet another awful offense against her.
This series treats Pam and tommy as caricatures of themselves. That they deserved this. It’s almost sympathetic to the carpenter that stole the film as revenge.
This +1000
I find it so hypocrytic of her and I have no intention to watch this, she and every one else involved are knowingly taking part in recreating the sexual trauma that Pam went through and turning it into some fun nostalgic celebrity history.
So dissappointing.
Is anyone in this area of entertainment or the law? I’m curious how they were able to make a story about Pam and Tommy without someone owning the rights to their image.
She really thought Pamela Anderson would want to be involved in a project about something incredibly traumatising for her and basically relive it?
She lost me with the open-mouthed pose.
She looks like a drooling corpse.
I find her comments ridiculous, considering the tone of Pam and Tommy thus far. I have to admit, after hearing so much about how bonkers it is (“The tone is darkly comedic like I, Tonya!” “There’s a talking penis!”) curiosity got the better of me and I watched the first three episodes. Pam is the third most important character. The show is ALL about Tommy and Rand. And it absolutely expects us to feel sympathy for Rand, and to root for this antihero on his quest for vengeance. Pam unquestionably suffered the most from this, but she’s reduced to a supporting role in a story about asshole men. I was disgusted, and I won’t be watching the rest. Lily can pay lip service to her feminist talking points all she wants, but they lie in direct contrast to the project in which she participated.
I didn’t get a sympathy angle for Rand at all. He’s being painted as a vindictive, jilted contractor who is also a mega pathetic loser, and meeting lots of opposition to the tape being released without consent and still not gaf and trying to find loopholes to do it. Tommy is also painted as a selfish childish douchebag. Pam is the one who comes out the most endearing, though she is being portrayed as more of a sweet bimbo, but with aspirations of being taken more seriously in Hollywood, and wanting a career like Jane Fonda’s, who she had described as her role model in one scene.
Really? Interesting. I feel like the show wants us to think that Rand’s attempt to seek restitution from Tommy in some capacity is totally justified by the awful way Tommy treats him. It wants us to root for Rand. It also seems to me like the show paints Rand as some kind of pioneering genius for figuring out that he could use the web to distribute the tape.
I agree that Tommy is painted as selfish and childish, and I also agree that Pam comes across as the most endearing, but she’s also written here in a way that gives her very little agency, as someone who is completely subject to the whims of the men around her. Which was actually probably pretty accurate.
Weird because I thought he was sympathetic too!
He’s the working class getting stomped on by the rich. Being taken advantage of and having his work not appreciated while not getting paid by someone with wealth. Write it with any other characters and it’s textbook sympathetic.
As far as Pam… Pam is written as the toxic friend.
I find Lily James’s ‘expectation’ that the project would eventually have Pamela’s approval completely unbelievable. A cursory review of the story would lead anyone else to the exact opposite conclusion. Especially since Seth Rogen is involved and it’s being promoted as a “funny” examination of celebrity culture. Had no clue that Lily James is a feminist; still don’t. Also had no clue that Nick Offerman is sympathetic to feminism; still don’t. Behavior of men involved in this project is depressingly unsurprising. But Lily James support of misogynistic culture is the worst.
The trailers do look fun and interesting, and if this was a purely fictional story, I would watch it and probably really like it. If it had Pam Anderson’s support, I’d probably watch it.
I don’t think Lily is a feminist at all. I think her ideas of being a feminist go as far as feeling sorry for herself about the way she was portrayed for her involvement with a married man.
I won’t blame her for Dominic blowing up his own marriage but Lily wasn’t an innocent bystander.
I’m not gonna feel sorry for her because she thinks nobody should ask her about her very public affair with a man she knew had a family. They both suck.
Based on Lily James’ interviews, she uses feminism when it suits her and protects her from criticism. I wonder if she’d consider it a feminist act if someone made a comedy about her affair and told her it was being done as a positive thing.
@whatever///I felt that way about the first 3 episodes too but the full review of the mini-series says that those 3 are the only ones that have that weird semi-comic tone and focus on the two guys. The critic I read said that the rest of the episodes were directed by women, I believe and focus on Pam first. The energy shifts and they are much darker and not ‘funny’ at all. I am going to give it a chance.
That’s what I read too. That Pam ends up the hero of it basically. That she was way smarter and savvier about her career then she was ever credited with.
Remember it’s only 3 episodes into the series and i feel like so far they’ve done a good job showing each character in a sympathetic way. First episode tommy came across poorly and your sympathy was with the construction worker, second episode they showed Tommy and Pam in much more vulnerable affectionate ways than I expected Tommy sings along to a musical Pam loves with her, he cries when they find out she’s expecting. Human beings are multidimensional and so far they’ve shown all of them in sympathetic ways and in bad lights.
In the end he hurt pam immeasurably by releasing and sex tape when his intended was really Tommy but he seemed to not care about hurting Pam at all which was so cold
He may have been shown crying when he found out Pam was expecting, but in real life he beat her up so severely while she held his newborn baby he was imprisoned for it. They are trying to portray an abusive marriage as’ the greatest live story ever told’.I’ll James is a feminist when it suits her. She must be incredibly dumb to think that this would be seen as anything other than titillation and yet another exploitation of Pam.
She’s exploiting Pam all over again for an Emmy and is trying to front like she’s Pam’s champion. Pam never asked for any of this and to force this narrative and rehashing on her without her consent is ironic and sick. And Her insistence that we ate all to blame for Pam’s mistreatment is galling since she’s one of the people profiting off Her trauma right now. Her and Sebastian Stan on this press tour has been eye opening. Especially the smarmy way SS admitted to watching the tape “for research” and his idolization of Tommy Lee on social media and interviews.
Everyone involved should be ashamed of what they’re doing to Pam.
F*ck Robert Seigel for producing this movie. F*ck Seth Rogen for staring in it and executive producing it. F*ck Sebastian Stan and F*ck Nick Offerman. It’s exploitive full stop. And it’s Lily Allen that is going to get raked by everyone upset on Pam’s behalf.
Nick Offerman to Newsweek “ I also really love how it ends up taking Pam Anderson’s point of view and becomes a bit of a feminist statement. So I was just glad to be a part of it.” Get the F*ck out of here.
It’s just really depressing to be female some days.
I think theyre all rightfully catching sh!t, but especially SS and LJ after they kept stepping into it during the press tour. LJ tends to hide behind the English rose persona and thinks any pushback is sexist. She’s 32 years old. She knows better as do the rest.
I haven’t followed the press tour and had to google the men involved since this article is just about Lilly James (I incorrectly wrote Lilly Allen previously). She should know better but she’s also the least powerful person in that group.
Does this bass mouthed idiot really not see that she is now one of the countless people that not only exploited Pamela Anderson but cashed a meaty paycheck for her efforts?
The hypocrisy runs deep in this one.
I’ve never enjoyed her performances.
I will certainly be avoiding Pamela and Tommy.
One Million Percent. Totally exploitative.
All of it makes me feel really sad for Pamela Anderson. Not intending to watch the series and it should never have been made.
Tommy Lee did 6 months for abusing Pam and yet the producers are promoting this as a love story. Everyone involved in this is trash. I’m sure Lily James is just glad we all quit talking about her Italian fling with Dominic West.
Is she nuts? Pamela Anderson was traumatized by the release of this tape & Lily James thought she’d come on board with a movie about it? Her marriage was starting to implode, it impacted her career & she was heavily slut shamed…for having sex with her husband. Jesus Christ.
I agree with those who find her comments ironic, to say the least. She claimed she was slut-shamed (her words) for the West thing, and yes, she was, by many people if not all. I for one felt she was a grown women who made a mistake, but that West was married with kids and therefore way more at fault in the whole situation.
I don’t believe for a second that Lily believed Pam would “eventually” be OK with this series. Pam’s feelings were made pretty clear, and for obvious reasons. What woman would want to have that traumatic episode in her life revisited and used for entertainment and award bait?! Hell no.
It’s nice that she felt empowered playing Pam. We know all Pamela felt the opposite when this happened, and probably does now too, given that it was all done without her consent or consultation and she was against it.
I’ll be pissed if she wins any award for this, not because of her performance which I am sure is good, but just on principle. I don’t care how hard she worked at it, the whole thing is gross.
I disagree. She was rightfully shamed and not for slut-shaming reasons – rather for the simple fact he was a married family man. And any decent consensual non-monogamy participant ensures consent of all parties. So that makes her just as bad as West, I don’t care if he took the vows. Both are equally awful and other women/men help abuse betrayed spouses together.
I understand your POV. I just wanted to make it clear that this is not about the West affair. I’m miffed with her about taking part in this show and crying “Feminism”, and I remain miffed, more so than I am about the affair thing. Like I said, she made a mistake. I’m not condoning it. I just think he was worse because he’s the one who’s married with children. But she sucks for taking part in this miniseries and I’m seeing a pattern of poor judgment and thoughtlessness with her that is really, really off-putting. Add to that the constant open-mouth posing and I just find her beyond annoying. I have a pretty poor impression of her, overall.
I’ve watched the first two episodes of this show and I can’t believe people are saying LJ did a good job portraying Pam. She plays like a ditzy dumb blond who makes porn star noises constantly through every scene with Tommy Lee and I find it horrible.
Pamela A is no fool and a very smart driven passionate woman, who unfortunately has had terrible taste in men in her life. She doesn’t deserve this bullshit show, just like she didn’t deserve to have that tape released, and I’m disappointed in everyone involved in it, including Sebastian Stan who I normally like. I sincerely hope they don’t win any awards for this crap.
If this had Pamela’s support, I would watch it but it doesn’t, so I won’t. And I think everyone has forgotten that the video of her and Tommy was not the only tape that got out. She used to date Bret Michaels from the band Poison and the sex tape of her and Bret was stolen from him and released. This happened to Pamela TWICE. Plus she was molested as a kid. And now, once again, she has been violated and her agency has been taken from her. I’m avoiding this show like the plague.
If PA didn’t want any part of this, everyone involved should be ashamed. Without her participation, this is nothing but blatant torture.
Lest we forget, Pam is a mother. Her 2 sons are having to live through this and for that I feel very sorry for them. Lily James is trash to do this. She and the other actors know full well the hurt and humiliation this is causing Pam and her family but Lily is trying to justify it by referring to Pam’s “wit and grace”. GMAFB.
It doesn’t matter if Pam consented or not. Tons of unauthorized biographies have been written, most of them without consent. Kitty Kelly did a number of them that were in poor taste but never was successfully sued. She made lots of money and felt zero guilt. The royal family has been the subject of unauthorized films and tv shows that make money and no one guilts them for that. Lily James is an actress doing her job and getting paid for it. Why should she be ashamed.
Then she can forget about getting any sympathy for being called out about having an affair with a married family man. Hey, they’re both public figures, and they were canoodling in the open. Totally fair game, right? But she said everyone was “slut-shaming” her and did a Woe Is Me act. It goes both ways.
Also, I don’t think the royal family tv shows ever showed such personal and intimate acts. And they live off the public’s money, which Pam Anderson does not. I would say they are at least fairer game.
I feel for Pam in this entire situation. Her and Tommy’s marriage was toxic with a capital T. Tommy being the main problem. I wonder if they’ll talk about how he hit her while she was holding the baby. I remember all this when we didn’t have social media and I hated Tommy Lee for what he did.
Oh, and “Misogyny is so striking.” What in the holy f*ck is that supposed to mean?
It bothers me that she (and the whole team) persevered without Pam’s consent. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that James is ignoring her buy-in as last year James didn’t mind sleeping with a married family man without his wife’s consent and buy-in….so her own selfishness prevailing is a theme for her. To me that is a pattern of unethical behavior (one Pam also has so…)
James is young so hopefully she grows into a better person. She is talented as an actor
She’s nearly 33! Not that young, and has been in the industry all her life. I think maybe she’s not all that bright and maybe she herself is a bit easily swayed by men telling her to do things.
Omg i missed her she I honestly thought James was you her. Wow yeah she should know better. I guess she’s shown us who she is – repeatedly. Yikes is all I can say
Hmm maybe so about not too bright that could be it. But she is so good at acting so I think she is but she certainly isn’t a very ethical person
You know what else is sexist? Making a mini-series about a living woman and not consulting her about it (nor giving her any of the profits). So gross.
Isn’t The Crown a mini series about living people?
The Royals have huge amounts of power and influence. They manipulate the press to such an extent that the people who pay for them have no idea what they do. They are unelected Heads of State and therefore should not be allowed to shut down portrayals of themselves ( mainly quite truthful and part of public record) because it doesn’t suit their current narrative. Recreating a sex tape and a cri.inal act for profit and laughs is a different matter. Pam has no power or agency.
I saw an interview and my only thought after that was that Lily will one day regret having taken this role. If not when she is older, then when she has children.
The West thing wasn’t too clever and now this, but who knows, her career may not suffer because Hollywood is a hot mess.
@jezz Agreed and I think that is a pervasive thing in Pamela’s life. I feel like she has been used and abused most of her life by more powerful men and it disgusts me. I have a super soft spot for Pam because I think she is a genuinely nice person. She doesn’t deserve any of this.
Had I been in her position, I would’ve contacted Pam ahead of time, and not taking the role if I knew she wasn’t on board. This is kind of a pointless retelling (doesn’t everyone already know what happened?) And given that it’s against the will of the victims of this situation, I side eye anyone who agreed to the project.
Also I think they selected the worst photo of her for the cover, she is a pretty woman, but that photo is very unflattering.
It’s interesting to me that so many people are concerned about victims’ rights, to the point of calling Lily trash, about this project. But absolutely no one is concerned about victims’ rights with the House of Gucci. And Gucci is the only project of the two where the victim or their family has publicly gone on the record against it. Same thing with the Diana movie. But K Stewart and Lady Gaga are vying for Oscar nominations with the world’s blessing. If Pam ever publicly comes out against it, I’ll re-think my position. But neither she nor her sons have said a word against it on the record. And she’s not known for staying quiet when she has something to say. Not wanting to be involved with it doesn’t mean she’s traumatized by it.
Those examples are of dead victims – not same
So it would be fine to do the show if Pam had been murdered just like the House of Gucci guy? IDK, but that seems like a bad interpretation to me. Either you care about victims’ rights, or you don’t. And movies like House of Gucci and the entire true crime industry take advantage of victims every day. Being hyper-focused on the star of one series instead of pushing for change on the broader issue seems very wrong.
Wow the hypocrisy and shamelessness!
She has zero respect for women, she’s proven that with the Dominic West affair and she’s proven it again now with her greed to profit off another woman’s traumatic past without her consent.
Horrible person. Cancel her.
Yeah, you would think she would have more sympathy for what Anderson went through. But she’s made a brutal calculation that a terrific role/the boost to her career is worth more than another woman’s privacy. Ugh.
That’s a very good point. All things considered, I think she is calculating and disingenuous. If she were a great actress, that might save her in some ways, if not all. But she’s not. She’s good, but not great. Also, she’s pretty, but she’s not a beauty. Sorry, I am feeling petty. But I think I’m right.
Being shamed for bad behavior isn’t “slut shaming”. She wasn’t being shamed for having sex. She was being shamed for having an affair with a married man. He’s a scumbag and so is she.
I am actually appalled they made this show in the first place. Leave Pam alone!!!