Lake Bell was one of more than a hundred celebrities who suddenly had nude photos of themselves leaked onto the internet in 2014. Now, eight years later, the actress is using that invasive experience as fuel to direct episodes about the mother of all celebrity nude leaks: the sex tape of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee.
“The disorientation that Pam Anderson felt when her stuff went viral, which wasn’t even the word at the time, I just have that knowledge,” Bell told Insider. “When I got hacked I went, ‘F—!’ It feels gross.”
“I remember having to talk to an FBI recovering agent for a week or so about that property being stolen and it was so humiliating,” Bell noted. “And for me, it was so personal.”
That intimate understanding of what it’s like to have something so personal and private not only stolen but disseminated to the public gave her a more authentic understanding of what Anderson went through as arguably the first viral sex video of the internet era.
As such, she used her own experience with intention to be sure she was respecting Anderson’s experience and story, as presented through Lily James’ portrayal.
“Reading through the series, I realized this is shockingly intelligent in its way of addressing exploitation,” Bell said. “While allowing for the viewer to laugh and enjoy.”
“Pam & Tommy” dropped its first three episodes this past week, which set the stage for the exploitation to come. In it, fans get the point of view of the disgruntled carpenter who stole the tape, as well as the newlyweds in love and oblivious to just how much their lives were about to change.
The trio of episodes culminated in the creation of the sex tape, leaving all of its players on the cusp of chaos. It was at this moment that Bell entered the narrative, taking the helm for the upcoming fourth installment. She also directs the seventh episode.
“When the hack happened I wasn’t like, ‘I don’t even know what you’re talking about,’ but with Pam, she says, ‘There could be hundreds of copies out there,’ and it’s just like bless. Because in reality, even back then, it was millions,” said Bell.
She also emphasized that just because someone makes a conscious decision to pose nude does not give the public carte blanche access to their body. “Most actors can connect with the idea that just because I posed on the cover of a magazine naked, which I have done a couple of times, it doesn’t mean you can take naked photos that I took on my wedding night and put them out on the internet.”
She also gained a new appreciation for Anderson, who was vilified and slut-shamed for a video that was never intended for public consumption. “The biggest takeaway for me was Pam Anderson is not a pushover,” she said. “She was a person who made strong choices and understood what her boundaries were and those boundaries were compromised.”