Pamela Anderson has said the praise she’s received for her performance in The Last Showgirl feels well earned after the events of the past few years.
The former Baywatch star recently bagged a Golden Globe nomination for her role in the new film, and is even among the top favourites to score a nod at the Oscars later this year.
Speaking to Andy Cohen on his SiriusXM show, Pamela claimed that the buzz around her new role felt like “payback” after a drama about a dark time in her life was made without her consent.
In 2022, Lily James played one of the leads in Pam & Tommy, a miniseries about the events leading up to the leak and publication of Pamela and her ex-husband Tommy Lee’s private sex tape.
At the time, it was reported that Pamela was unhappy with the show being made without her input or approval, which she later confirmed to be the case.
“It’s just one of those things,” she said of the show. “It happened and now I’m here, and so this is the best payback.”
Pamela continued: “I’m being seen and recognised for my work and not these tawdry moments.”
Director Craig Gillespie previously defended the decision to make Pam & Tommy without the Canadian star’s input, saying: “I absolutely respect any personal decision that she makes on that, and understand where she’s coming from.
“The thing that gave me comfort was I felt like we really had an opportunity to change the narrative of this story, and to show it from a perspective that people can hopefully learn and grow from.
“And I felt that we portrayed them in a very empathetic way. I thought the writers did a really nice job with that. So I felt that there was that opportunity, which was the hope.”
Lily James also said that her own personal attempts to contact Pamela about playing her went in vain.
Making it clear she doesn’t hold a grudge against the former Downton Abbey star, Pamela added to Andy Cohen: “It’s not the actor’s fault. I mean, I’m sure she’s a great actress and stuff. I don’t care, it’s just one of those things.”
She also branded the Disney+ series “so strange”, “hurtful”, “bizarre” and unethical, lamenting: “I remember people telling me a long time ago that you are basically public property and you have no right to privacy.”
Pamela previously shared her version of events in her 2023 memoir, Love, Pamela, and an accompanying Netflix documentary, Pamela, A Love Story.
The Last Showgirl will hit UK cinemas on Friday 28 February.