Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee: A look back at their sex tape scandal

close

Video

Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines of the week

Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. Check out what clicked this week in entertainment.

Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee never suspected millions of people would watch the sex tape that they filmed during their honeymoon – but that’s exactly what happened.

The scandal, which rocked pop culture, is now being explored in Hulu’s scripted series "Pam & Tommy," which became available for streaming on Wednesday. It stars Lily James as the "Baywatch" bombshell and Sebastian Stan as the Mötley Crüe drummer.

A rep for Lee, 59, didn’t immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment while Anderson, 54, had no comment.

Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee met at a New Year's Eve party in Hollywood. (S. Granitz/WireImage)

The drama all started in 1994 when the rocker and the Playboy cover girl met at a New Year’s Eve party. Lee was freshly single after he and his wife of seven years, actress Heather Locklear, called it quits. Lee and Anderson crossed paths at Hollywood club Sanctuary, where they shared a drink.

PAMELA ANDERSON SPLITS FROM HUSBAND DAN HAYHURST AFTER ONE YEAR OF MARRIAGE

"He came up, grabbed me and licked my face," Anderson recalled to Movieline magazine, as quoted by the New York Post. "I thought he was a cool, friendly, nice guy. I gave him my number."

A hopelessly smitten Lee was relentless with his non-stop calls, which put Anderson off, Rolling Stone reported. But the pair finally connected while Anderson was preparing to leave town for a photo shoot in Cancun, Mexico.

Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee on the beach following their wedding in Cancun, Mexico, February 1995. (Getty Images)

"I begged him not to come down there," Anderson claimed, as quoted by the outlet. "He said, ‘OK. See you later.’ I thought it was a weird way for the conversation to end."

The outlet noted Lee kept his word. He flew to Cancun and tracked Anderson to the Ritz-Carlton. Within 96 hours, the pair said "I do" on the beach and tattooed each other’s names on their ring fingers. Shortly after tying the knot, the newlyweds filmed a sex tape and took explicit photos meant for their eyes only. The X-rated footage would later come back to haunt them.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Not long after the nuptials, Anderson moved in with Lee in Malibu, California.

Tommy Lee described how he and Pamela Anderson weren't prepared for the intense media scrutiny that came after the pair tied the knot. (Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

"I didn’t understand the paparazzi, because I had never experienced anything this crazy with Heather," Lee recalled, as quoted by Rolling Stone. "Back then, the s--- was more organized. With Pamela, it was a whole other level of stalking. Photographers would pop out of the bushes when we left the house and start high-speed chases with us down the freeway. Everywhere we went, someone would yell ‘Pamela!’ or ‘Tommy!’ and if we turned, a million flashbulbs went off. If we didn’t turn, they’d start booing and cussing us out."

"It became a sick game, trying to invent elaborate schemes to avoid them: sending her assistant out of the house in a decoy blond wig or switching cars to throw them off our trail," he continued. "I wanted to crush them all: It wasn’t so much the invasiveness as it was the lack of respect for us as human beings. When Pamela collapsed and lost our first child due to a miscarriage (a Lee family curse, my mother said), the paparazzi were so intent on getting photos, they kept cutting off the ambulance on the way to the hospital. F---, dude, I could deal with them trying to crash our parties, but trying to crash our ambulance was another story."

It was around this time that electrician Rand Gauthier began working on the pair’s property. After being terminated, the disgruntled ex-employee sought revenge. In 2014, Gauthier told Rolling Stone that the motivation came after Lee allegedly told him to "get the f--- off my property" while pointing a gun at him as he attempted to pick up his tools from the home. He claimed Lee refused to pay him or give him his tools back.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson became parents to two boys. (Stephane Cardinale/Sygma via Getty Images)

Gauthier later snuck back onto the property and stole a safe in hopes it contained money and valuables. Instead, it held the sex tape, which was distributed by Internet Entertainment Group, The Hollywood Reporter revealed. It made $77 million in 12 months.

According to the outlet, the couple sued the company and ultimately settled for an undisclosed sum. However, the major stress resulting from their privacy being invaded put a strain on their marriage. Anderson said they never made any money from the tape and she has never seen it.

During their marriage, Lee and Anderson became parents to sons Brandon Thomas and Dylan Jagger. The Hollywood Reporter noted that Anderson and Lee divorced in 1998, following a domestic dispute. Lee served six months in jail for spousal abuse. 

"I’m very proud of Tommy," Anderson told reporters outside the courthouse. "I’m happy he took responsibility for this. And I think it’s the first step toward healing."

The duo got back together in 2008 but eventually called it quits for good. 

As for Gauthier, Rolling Stone reported he resides outside of Santa Rosa, California, where he works as an electrician and "grows marijuana in his garage."

Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee divorced in 1998. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

Anderson has walked down the aisle five times. Her most recent marriage to bodyguard Dan Hayhurst ended after one year. As for Lee, he married internet personality Brittany Furlan in 2019.

TOMMY LEE'S INTERVIEW ENDS ABRUPTLY WHEN HOST ASKS WHICH OF HIS EX-LOVERS WAS 'BEST'

James told The Associated Press that she hopes the story’s teachable moments will resonate with audiences in 2022.

"We’re looking back at these stories as kind of reckonings and realizing our own culpability in the way people have been treated and how as a society we treat women, particularly, not only through the media but in all different levels," said James. "It’s good to provoke a conversation, and it’s important for us all to sort of look inward and look at ourselves and try and do better."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.