In “Pam & Tommy” Episode 5, the founder of Penthouse magazine, Bob Guccione, got hold of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s leaked tape. Tommy got paranoid and speculated that Guccione would print the stills from the tape in his magazine, and thus, to stop him, Tommy brought in a bunch of lawyers to send a legal notice to Guccione. On the other hand, Guccione saw the legal notice as an attack on freedom of the press and decided to publish the stills anyway. Pamela even got a notice from the department of justice that called her for an oral examination.
“Pam & Tommy” Episode 6 covers Pamela’s testimony while also depicting the humiliation she faced during the examination. The ironies of the judicial system and its lawyers are highlighted throughout the episode, who failed to understand the concept of privacy and consent during the 1990s and thus considered the leaked tape as a means of getting financial gains.
See More: ‘Pam & Tommy’ Episode 5: Recap & Ending: The Aftermath Of The Tape
A Glimpse Into The Past
Bruce, representing the defense counsel, eagerly wanted to know how Pamela Denise Anderson entered into the glamor world. Hence, while answering his questions, Pamela plunges into nostalgia and remembers her days from 1989 in Vancouver, where she moved in 1988 and waited tables to make ends meet.
The flashback begins with a football game at BC Place Stadium, which Pamela attends with her then-boyfriend (Dan Ilicic). During the game, Pamela is featured in a Jumbotron and gets the attention of Roger Dennis, the vice president of marketing at Labatt Breweries. Roger notices Pamela wearing a Labatt’s Beer T-shirt and offers her a chance to become a model for the company. Though Pamela’s boyfriend suspects his intentions, Roger leaves behind his business card and asks Pamela to contact him in case she changes her mind. Soon after, while working in a restaurant, Pamela decides to give the opportunity a chance and, in a short time, becomes a successful local model.
However, Pamela’s golden chance to rise in the glamor world arrives when she gets a call from Playboy Magazine. Even at this point, her then-boyfriend disapproves of the idea, but Pamela left her home for a dream, and she was meant to soar high, so she decides to leave her boyfriend, who was coming between her dreams. Soon, she becomes a model for the most prestigious adult magazine, which also sparks her long association with its owner, Hugh Hefner. The flashback also hints at Pamela’s curiosity that influenced her decision to opt for transplant surgery later in life.
‘Pam & Tommy’ Episode 6: Ending – A Legal Harassment
At first, Bruce, like a very passionate conspiracy theorist, speculates that maybe Pamela wanted to feature in Penthouse Magazine, but Guccione and Hefner shared a personal rivalry, and Pamela’s association with Guccione would have ruined her relationship with Hefner. Hence, she leaked her tape willingly to get published in Penthouse without jeopardizing her relationship with Hefner. Though this acquisition was baseless, it did take a toll on Pamela’s emotional sanity.
The second humiliating acquisition that Bruce imposes is that Tommy Lee and Pamela recorded their intimate tape to get financial gain out of it. In flashback sequences, it is pointed out that Tommy recorded the tape as the conception of their first child, and it was meant to be a family artifact which he kept safely in his safe until it was stolen by Rand Gauthier, who wanted to leak the tape to take revenge on Tommy. But it is evident that Bruce doesn’t know the whole story, nor does he want to, and in his ignorance, he wants to judge everybody.
The central theme explored through Bruce’s character is the element of “privacy” and “consent.” Bruce imposes that if the tape is recorded in public, then it implies that it is meant for public demonstration. In the age of social media, it is hard to understand the clause of privacy, but not quite impossible. What one does in public or posts on social media includes their consent (if posted by them or someone who represents them). However, if someone leaks pictures, videos, or any other material without someone’s permission or consent, then yes, indeed, it is an invasion of privacy. It is as simple as that.
But Bruce wasn’t interested in understanding the moral threads of society and instead jumped to a conclusion through his speculations in which he had already declared Pamela guilty of recording a tape (which she didn’t even record in reality but instead was a part of it). The examination was going nowhere, and Pamela could very well sense that. She made it clear to her lawyer, Sandy, that she was done with the questions, and just wanted to end the mess created by the legal proceedings.
Maybe Sandy will be able to convince Bruce to not worry Pamela again, but her worries will not end with Bruce. The entire society blames Pamela for recording and leaking the tape in order to gain attention, and all of this gossip and rumors are likely to become a reason for destroying her relationship with Tommy, leading to a divorce in the end.
‘Pam & Tommy’ Episode 6 is streaming on Hulu.
