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Baywatch star Pamela Anderson was mortified when a sex tape she and then husband Tommy Lee made on their honeymoon was leaked to the world in 1996.
She was later offered $5 million (then about R25 million) for the rights to the infamous tape but turned it down – partly because she wanted to spare their sons, Brandon and Dylan, who were then just babies, any future embarrassment.
But her boys now say they wish she'd taken the cash. In her tell-all Netflix documentary Pamela: A Love Story, Brandon (26) and Dylan (25) share their thoughts about their parents' sex tape
Brandon says growing up he was always aware of how his mother chose family over money, which is why she opted not to monetise the sex tape.
“I wish she would've made the money. She would've made millions of dollars if she'd just signed the paper,” he says in the doccie.
“Instead, she sat back with nothing and watched her career fizzle into thin air. She was in debt most of her life.”
Dylan agrees.
“Things would've been different if she'd made money on that tape,” he says. “People made millions of dollars [from it] and she said no because she 100% cared about her family being okay, and me being okay.”
Brandon says when he was at school, the other kids would often tease him about the tape.
“I remember in school if anyone brought up my mom, I'd just fight. I was very quick to flush with anger."
One day, Brandon couldn’t handle it anymore and went home crying, asking his mom why she'd made the sex tape.
In a clip shared online, Pamela recalls telling her son the sex tape never happened.
“I always thought I’d tell them when they were age-appropriate, but they found out before I could talk to them about it,” she says.
“They didn’t deserve all the drama. But despite the gene pool, they’re perfect gentlemen. Looking at them today, I get a little choked up because they’re such good men.”
Pamela also reveals she's never watched the sex tape. “I’ve not seen it to this day; it was very hurtful,” she says.
“I want people to understand the tape was stolen property. It was two crazy naked people in love,” she says. “I mean, we were naked all the time and filming each other and being silly, but those tapes weren't meant for anybody else to see.”
In one of the trailers for the documentary, Pamela says reliving the year it was stolen and leaked has stirred up a lot of emotion.
“I blocked that stolen tape out of my life in order to survive, and now that it’s all coming up again, I feel sick.
Pammie was offered the $5 million by late American pornography publisher Bob Guccione but the blonde bombshell wasn't interested and later tried to sue Internet Entertainment Group, the company that had illegally distributed the sex tape, for invasion of privacy.
“I didn’t know I was going to be completely humiliated. I remember walking into the room and seeing all these guys there,” Pamela says.
“They had all these naked pictures of me, and the lawyers basically said: ‘You’re in Playboy, you have no right to privacy’.”
In the documentary, Pamela says she wants to take back control of the narrative of her life.
"I was very hesitant, but looking back, I feel empowered,” she explains.
“And I hope that my story inspires people to have a great f*****g time and not worry so much.”
Pamela: A Love Story on Netflix from 31 January.
Sources: DAILYMAIL.CO.UK, NYPOST.COM, THEGUARDIAN.COM
