How problematic is Pam and Tommy?
Graphic by Lilianna Smith
Last month, Hulu dropped a new series following the theft and distribution of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s sex tape. Unsurprisingly named Pam and Tommy, Lily James portrays Pamela Anderson (quite beautifully, may we add) and Sebastian Stan ditches the metal arm to portray Tommy Lee.
The series follows Anderson and Lee’s relationship, starting in 1995 when marrying after only knowing each other for approximately 96 hours. Their romance was categorized as a whirlwind, and later a headline when their sex tape got leaked by Rand Gauthier (portrayed by Seth Rogan). Anderson was mainly known as an actress in Baywatch, while Lee was the infamous bad-boy drummer for Mötley Crüe.
There’s been a bit of discussion revolving around the series itself, with questions stemming from: “Did Pamela publicly disapprove of the show?” to “Why should we romanticize a known abuser such as Tommy Lee?” People have different answers to these spiraling questions.
After following discourse online and articles by popular entertainment sources, Anderson apparently didn’t bless the show to be made, instead, the series just brought up bad memories. Sexuality and the idea of leaking sex tapes and nudes were looked upon differently in the 90s than it is today. Anderson got loads of backlash for the leaked tape due to the misconstrued reaction towards male and female nudity.
When a woman gets her sex taped leaked, she’s called a “slut,” “whore,” and anything in between. Meanwhile, the man in the sex tape gets praised, congratulated, and is never faced with repercussions.
That’s approximately what happened in this case, as the series portrays the differing reactions from the public towards Anderson and Lee, portraying the toxicity of the media and what it stands for.
Spiraling back to those questions above, why should we romanticize a known abuser such as Tommy Lee?
Let’s get this clear: Tommy Lee should not be romanticized. Like, at all. He got arrested on charges for spousal abuse towards Anderson (while holding their young child. Like, really?). He’s probably one of the worst role models to have, and for him to have this sort of publicity once again is harmful.
There are two sides to every coin. Media is media and money is money. Companies and corporations will make shows about anyone that they know will generate revenue, thus “Pam and Tommy” has been released. Then again, it’s harmful to portray an abuser through fictionalization because it’s once again giving them a platform and a form of publicity. To some people, bad press is still press.
The whole concept of the show is questionable. It’s important to showcase the differences tied to non-consensual nudity and the reactions that stem from it. Discussion of the media’s role in this is important due to the sexism that has been rooted in the media ever since it started. It’s also not necessary to continue to portray abusers in the media just for entertainment purposes, because they shouldn’t be given platforms anymore.
So “Pam and Tommy” as a whole is just a big meh. There’s definitely a list of pros and cons on whether or not you should consume this piece of media, but ultimately that decision is all yours.