Pamela Anderson doubles down on previous #MeToo comments that caused backlash
Daisy Phillipson
Featured Image Credit: Andrea Raffin/London Entertainment/Alamy Stock Photo
Pamela Anderson has doubled down on her previous #MeToo comments that caused backlash at the time.
The former Baywatch star is the subject of a new Netflix documentary about her life, which tells the truth about her life behind the cameras ahead of her upcoming memoir, Love, Pamela.
In the film she opens up about the violation she felt at having her private sex tape with Tommy Lee stolen and leaked, and the abuse she suffered as a child.
And in excerpts from her book, she accuses Tim Allen of flashing her on the set of Home Improvement, an accusation he denies but she insists is true.
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Despite having been praised for the candid insight into her life, Anderson faced backlash in 2017 for comments she made in the wake of the #MeToo movement, which saw people share their experiences of sexual abuse and harassment in a bid to fight against sexual violence.
In an interview with Today, the 55-year-old star told news anchor Megyn Kelly: "It was common knowledge that certain producers or certain people in Hollywood are people to avoid, privately.
"You know what you’re getting into if you’re going into a hotel room alone."
Anderson, who was accused of victim blaming, was asked about these comments in a new interview with Ronan Farrow, the journalist best known for helping to bring down Harvey Weinstein with his investigative reporting.
In the exchange, published by Interview Magazine earlier this week, Farrow asks Anderson about her views on the matter, saying: "You faced a lot of criticism, in the midst of #MeToo reporting that was coming out in the last several years, when you suggested women need to protect themselves a little more."
Anderson stands by her words, suggesting that she 'could take it a step further'.
"My mother would tell me – and I think this is the kind of feminism I grew up with – it takes two to tango," she explains.
"Believe me, I’ve been in many situations where it’s like, 'Come in here little girl, sit on the bed.'
"But my mom would say, 'If someone answers the door in a hotel robe and you’re going for an interview, don’t go in. But if you do go in, get the job.'
"That’s a horrible thing to say but that’s how I was.
"I skated on the edges of destruction, I just had this sense of value and self-worth. But I think a lot of people don’t have that or they weren’t taught that."
Nonetheless, she does praise the social movement, which went on to highlight a number of social issues outside of Hollywood.
She finishes the segment by saying: "Thank god for the #MeToo movement because things have changed and people are much more careful and respectful."