Pamela Anderson: The Swinger

Q: Not if the tabloids have their way. You seem to be the queen of tabloid gossip this past year, and your marriage to Tommy has only escalated that.

A: At the moment, I guess, we're the flavors of the month for being picked on. People are very greedy in this town and we get abused everywhere we go. Supposed "friends" of mine--people I don't even know--have made a lot of money by selling stories about me to the tabloid press. We've had people breaking onto our property, ringing our doorbell, throwing rocks through our windows. And the photographers, those bloodsuckers--they jump out of bushes and won't leave me alone.

Q: All that may get worse once Barb Wire opens. How did you wind up with the starring role in this movie?

A: I didn't have to audition. The offer came in but my agent didn't tell me about it for a long time. Finally he said. "I'll tell you about this, even though you won't want to do it. They want you to play a comic-book character who rides around on motorcycles and shoots people." I heard that and instantly lit up. My response was, "Abso-fucking-lutely!'" He said it would be a really stupid career move. But I knew that it would be fun, and a good opportunity for me to kick ass.

Q: Considering the ultra-aggravated nature of the character--I heard you nicknamed her "Pambo"--did you have an easy time relating to her?

A: She has a lot of strength and is really a tough woman. I can relate to that. My friends and family all know that I have that kind of strength inside me. I don't get taken advantage of. A lot of people think I'm not very smart because I look a certain way. That is what everyone at home on Vancouver Island thinks. After I appeared on a couple of episodes of "Home Improvement," my mom told me to walk into Michael Eisner's office and tell him I was ready to do movies. I had to tell her that's not the way things work here. She told me that I am lucky, that whatever I do turns to gold, that all I have to do is ask. [Sighing] I told her she's living in a fairy tale land.

Q: Some people would say that about your spacey Baywatch character, C.J. I rented last summer's Baywatch movie, Forbidden Paradise, and was disappointed to find C.J. disappears halfway through. What happened?

A: We'd already finished the season when they decided to shoot that. I was already obligated to host the Australian Music Awards. I was only able to spend two days on location, so they wrote me in and out of the script.

Q: You could have used similar treatment from the writers of some of your TV and low-budget theatrical films, say, Raw Justice, Snapdragon or that Mike Hammer mystery, Come Die With Me.

A: Those were bad little movies that I got thrown into. As far as I am concerned, Barb Wire is my first movie.

Q: If it does well, it may start a career in features for you. Many TV stars have been unsuccessful in making the leap to movies. Do you fear flaming out?

A: No. I don't really care if I do another movie. The career that I want is motherhood. More than anything, Tommy and I would like to have a family.

Q: Let's talk about your own family: in addition to what you've said about your mom, your father was an alcoholic and your grandfather was obsessed with divining the meaning from dreams. How tough was your childhood?

A: I grew up poor. But my life was not really tough. Everybody, rich or poor, has their problems. My father's drinking was not the most pleasant thing, but I have no regrets.

Q: I understand you've given your family members quite a bit of financial help.

A: I bought them houses and paid their bills. I do everything for my family because I know how stressful low finances can be. People say that you can have money if you really want it, but that's not true. You have to sacrifice a lot to have money. I don't want the people in my family to become as rude and ruthless as you need to be in order to make money.

Q: Let's talk about some of your forays with the tabloids. You sued The Globe after one of its reporters accused you of being a heroin addict. Has that been resolved?

A: We settled out of court. Basically, they paid my lawyer's bills and printed a retraction. In order to get that, though, I had to provide them with a medical history and allow them access to everything in my life. I was practically mutilated in the process of proving that I am not a drug addict.

Q: What do you think when you read these things about yourself? I think it'd be tough enough to suffer a miscarriage without having to read about it, too. True?

A: I have cried many times from reading things in the tabloids. It's a bizarre way to live. Women claim I've had plastic surgery so that I would look like them. One magazine said Tommy was out partying while I was in the hospital with my miscarriage. The truth is, he slept in the bed with me while I was on intravenous. Just the other day, Tommy saw a posting about me on AOL [American Online], which said we're about to get a divorce!

Q: Want to address a few of the wilder rumors about you, and set the record straight? There are whispers that Tommy physically abuses you. More specifically, that you had bruises on your face which you explained away by saying you'd been injured doing a stunt for Barb Wire.

A: I have not had a bruise on my face since I was a kid. That is an out-and-out lie. I don't really bruise easily, first of all. The very rare time that I do get a bruise... wait a minute. What am I talking about, trying to explains bruise [that I didn't have]?

Q: Tommy's wild-boy rep--true or not--does precede him. Bobbie Brown, his girlfriend before you, filed a complaint with the police, claiming that Tommy assaulted her.

A: That sleaze? That girl Bobbie Brown's just desperate for attention and money. Believe me, he would never raise his hands to anyone. I've seen Tommy in situations where other people's shit would hit the fan, and Tommy has never lost control. Plus, if somebody pushes me hard enough, I will beat the shit out of them. I don't give a shit about who I am or how it will be perceived.

Q: OK, how about this one? Former Motley Crüe vocalist Vince Neil told a British paper that you led him into the ladies' room of L.A.'s Bar One and had sex with him there. He's quoted as saying, "She wanted sex at least 10 times on our first night."

A: Vince Neil claims that we dated and went out. I've never even kissed him. I'd like to see him say it to my face, in front of Tommy and the other guys From Mötley Crüe.

Q: What about the allegation that Tommy is trying to control your life and he rarely lets you out of his sight?

A: What? He's hanging out with me. He comes with me at four o'clock in the morning. I love things the way they are. What we're talking about is not being controlling, it's being crazy in love with each other! It's not that he doesn't trust me when I am away from him--he just doesn't want to be apart.

Q: Another rumor has it that Tommy kept you in your trailer, continually having sex, while you were supposed to be out on the set shooting Barb Wire.

A: Of course Tommy and I had sex in the trailer on the movie set--all the time! But that was both of our choices. He didn't keep me away from [working on] the set, though, and it had nothing to do with controlling me.

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