John Hayes' interview with Pamela Anderson
October 01, 2006
By John Hayes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
With her graphic unauthorized sex video still floating through the ether, Anderson says she'd like to have some level of control over her Internet presence. The former "Baywatch" star who starred in the short-lived Fox series "Stacked" (which was canceled in May), recently teamed with one of the leading online poker companies to launch PamelaPoker.com. Anderson is more than a figurehead -- every Sunday from 6-7 p.m., she's at the Texas Hold 'em table in real time, where fans can virtually sit in on a poker game with Anderson, her rocker-husband Kid Rock and their friends, to play for money or just for fun.
Q: You say on the site that you're not much of a poker player.
A: No, I haven't been in the past. I grew up around it. I've played enough in my life to know how to play. I don't believe I can play so well. I'm learning, though. We have a lot of fun on Sundays over here. We have friends over -- real characters -- making spaghetti and playing poker. This is fun.
Q: Why did you get involved in a poker site?
A: I've been asked to do online poker for 12 years. I just wasn't convinced at that time that this was popular with anybody, that this is something they'd want to do on their computer, and why would I get involved in something that I didn't do? But they kept asking me. Finally, Doyle Brunson, who -- I think he [practically] invented Texas Hold 'em -- said he wanted to make poker an international sport and thought I was a good figurehead for that because I like to have fun. It's edgy, it's fun. There's a whole new world on the Internet. I've had somewhat of a presence on the Internet [but] haven't really created a business on it. But this is a business, too. I get to meet my fans on it in the chat rooms. It's really fun.
Q: Are you a gambler?
A: For a long time I went back and forth on this because I'm not a real gambler, I didn't really believe in it. But I've looked at it and it's a game of skill. Poker seems to be almost like a sport. It's grown so much in the last five years. You can play for free [on the site] and get your skills up. I have an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old boy and a stepson who's 13 who are on the computer all the time. All the money I've spent on Xbox games and all the other kinds of games. Adults want to be entertained, too. Poker is a real sexy sport, and you can make money. And if you lose a little here and there, well, how much do you spend on your kids' games?
Q: Were you concerned that this company wanted you as a figurehead because people searching the Net for your pictures would land on their site?
A: I don't mind having sexy pictures on the site. ... I think people know I'm a free spirit and like to have fun, and there's nothing really racy [on the site].
Q: I mean people searching the Internet for photos of you.
A: Well, I can't control the Internet, and believe me I've tried. I have had a love-hate relationship with the Internet. I said I wanted nothing to do with it -- I don't even want a computer. But again, you have to have some dignity and grace about yourself and keep going. If those people want to go off and find those pictures or that kind of video, they have to live with it. In the meantime, I have a great Web site that I'm proud of. ... It's great to have options. If I can find options out there, it's better than searching for something that I have no part in.
Q What's your favorite game?
A: Texas Hold 'em is the only thing I really know. I don't want people to be intimidated, thinking, well, if I've never played poker before I can't play poker online. But it's actually easier. You can play on the free tables. People learn about it, you can make mistakes, it's interesting.
Q: Got any poker advice?
A: I always say you gotta gamble responsibly. Everything in moderation. I hate to see anybody lose too much money. I just want people to have fun.
Pamela Anderson branches out
Pamela Anderson’s first plane ride was from her small hometown in British Columbia to the bright lights of Los Angeles. When she went to her first audition she never imagined she would become one of the most recognized celebrities in the world.
“I thought people that were basically born in Hollywood were the ones who become actors, but I happened to fall into it,” said Pamela.
But to say she quickly rose to the top would be an understatement. Hired for the role of C.J. on Baywatch, one of the most syndicated television shows in history, movies followed, along with countless magazine appearances.
“You don’t realize the magnitude or how many people are watching [the shows] until you start traveling,” Pamela said. “I just went to work, ate my bagels and did my scenes.”
Not long after she was caught up in a whirlwind of stardom and fame, the small town girl quickly turned big-time celebrity. Recently, she has co-written a fictional book called Star. It is based on her life -- from the Playboy mansion to hitting the big screen. With Star landing on the new bestseller list, a sequel is in progress.
“It’s 100% fiction but it is almost all real. It’s just a fun way of disguising what really happened,” Pamela said. “Most people who write biographies are trying to manipulate an audience so I thought I would be really clever and call it fiction.”
Instead of focusing solely on television or movies, Pamela has used the past two years to spend more time at home with her sons. But while she has not been in the eye of the camera, she has been branching out to write, design a new clothing line, and dedicate more time to charities.
“My life is really structured now with having two kids. I drop them off at school, I work, and then I pick them up at three. I am doing what I want to do,” she said.
The networks have been negotiating with Pamela for some time in hopes of starting a new sitcom next fall, but they will have to work around Pamela’s schedule because now she has other priorities.
“Anytime they [the producers] send a proposal for a movie or anything the first words are: we know that we only have you from 9 to 3, Monday through Friday and your kids are a priority,” Pamela said. “Just that people know that about me makes me feel good.”
While her children are in school, she will begin shooting her very own sitcom, which will air next fall. The series will be a comedy produced by Steven Levitan who has been involved with such projects as “8 Simple Rules” and “Just Shoot Me.”
Pamela is proud of her success, and says she does not regret any of her roles or appearances in Playboy magazine.
“I think my kids know that I am pretty authentic with what I believe in and I am always having a good time and having fun,” she said. “I have a sense of humor about it. You can’t judge yourself based on the notoriety from the public. It’s all silly to me.”
After years in the spotlight, Pamela has become accustomed to all the attention geared towards her and has learned to use it to speak out for causes she really believes in. One organization she stays heavily involved with is PETA, an animal rights group fighting to end animal cruelty.
“Instead of talking about who I was dating, I wanted to talk about KFC boiling chickens alive,” Pamela said.
Her dedication to the welfare of animals is also reflected in her new clothing line, The Pamela Collection, which includes no items made from animal products such as leather. Already the line has been featured in two Las Vegas fashion shows since February.
“With all this attention, I have been able to build a brand for myself, and I want to share with a big audience what I really believe in,” Pamela explained. “Even if I didn’t do anything else, I think I have done it all.”
This interview was conducted at the Viceroy Hotel, Room 802. The photographs accompanying this article were taken by Luca Pizzaroni. Pamela Anderson’s representative told Truly Hollywood, “It is her favorite [hotel] and she has a line of tee shirts coming out with the room number... the hotel is in the halfway meeting point of Pam's house in Malibu and her friends that live in Hollywood... so we all meet up
there, and we always stay in her favorite room. We call it ‘Pamela's apartment’ but she calls it the Vortex.”
Slice Of Americana
Published: January 16, 2005
In "Pam: American Icon," opening Friday at the Stellan Holm Gallery in Chelsea, the photographer Sante D'Orazio has taken images of Pamela Anderson - stark, slightly surreal nudes shot four years ago for Playboy but not published - and repurposed them as art. Greg Allen spoke by phone with Mr. D'Orazio in Manhattan and with Ms. Anderson in Malibu.
How do Playboy photos become art?
D'Orazio: Think of Warhol's Marilyn: everyone in the world knows her. He took the image from a fan magazine. I didn't have to go somewhere else to find my image. I made the picture, and I can go back to my own archive and appropriate my own imagery.
Were you thinking, "American icon"?
D'Orazio: When we look back years from now at this particular period, Pam will be the image that's remembered. She is the era. If you really think of it, she's a walking. living work of art, like a happening. If you left her in the gallery by herself, she'd be an exhibit.
What do you think about seeing these images nearly life-size in a gallery?
Anderson: I like the experience of being in a shoot, and I'm a total exhibitionist, but I don't like to look at them. But Sante sent me some on my computer, and I was kind of blown away. I can't imagine them blown up. I think I'd feel really awkward seeing them in a gallery. Plus, I'm there naked.
Sante described you as an icon of Americana.
Anderson: But I'm Canadian!
Interview with The Sky Magazine
Will Barb Wire prove to people that there's more to Pamela Anderson than her chest?
I think people will be surprised because Barb Wire is a far cry from CJ on Baywatch. I don't think anyone's going to be robbing my house anytime soon!
What about all these stories we read about your private life?
Well, you're from England so you must have read all those terrible tabloid stories. Stories there are so sensational that there's really nothing you can do except laugh. I've seen a few of them myself and I was like: "WHAAT?" I hope people get a good laugh out of that tabloid stuff, because they've go to know it's not true.
How much of the real Pamela Anderson do we see?
There's no way I set out to be a certain kind of symbol -- the way I dress is the way I am, is the way I live my life. I'm not trying to be anything that I'm not. I enjoy what I do. I enjoy my life to the fullest, I've always been like that. My old manager used to say, "You should be doing these kinds of movies and this kind," and I said, "Who are you talking to?" I'm lucky to do any movie. At this point in my career, this is just a great opportunity.
Interview with E! Online
How do you feel about everything that has happened with Tommy?
I've learned a lot. And in a way, it looks negative, but it's all positive. My husband has definitely learned a lot. And, you know, it's all going to be good in the future...I really believe in fate. I believe I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be every moment of every day.
Many women who are abused never have the courage to speak up. Why did you?
You have to do what you have to do. And I have two little children, and I'll do anything to make sure they're in a loving environment.
It seems motherhood has really affected you.
I don't take as much crap as I used to. You know, once you give birth, once you have kids, you realize what's important in life, and you realize it's really not difficult to be a good person. And so when people aren't good around me, I tend to move away from that. There are so many good people in the world, and you want to surround your children with that. I gave birth at home both times--natural--with a midwife, in water...with nothing.
No anesthesia? No doctor?
Nothing, not even Tylenol.
That was pretty brave.
Brave! Oh, I have huge balls. Yes I do. My brother says that.
Getting naked being a drama queen and her secret ache
by Luaine Lee
In case you had any doubts, Pamela Anderson Lee is a very important person.
It says as much on her new syndicated series, V.I.P. Lee is the star and exec producer of the show, in which she plays a reluctant bodyguard facing a series of unplanned twists and awkward scrapes.
Seems appropriate, considering Lee's own life. The blond bombshell was a fitness instructor in British Columbia when she was discovered at a football game by beer maker Labatt's. (She happened to be wearing one of their T-shirts at the time.)
Hawking brewski paved Pam's road to Hollywood, where she punched in as the Tool Time girl on Home Improvement and beautified the California coast on Baywatch.
But it was the five nude layouts and bestselling video for Playboy that ensured her massive, uh, fame. It was also just the kickoff of Lee's career as a bare-all starlet.
An allegedly stolen homemade X-rated video starring Pam and rocker-husband Tommy Lee set off a frenzy in Hollywood and a legal battle with an Internet company that sought to profit from the tape.
The couple left the courtroom in defeat, only to return a few months later--this time facing each other after Pam accused Tommy of kicking her while she was holding then seven-week-old Dylan. (He's now nine months; older brother Brandon is two.) The rocker was sentenced to six months in jail for spousal battery (he was released in August), and Pamela filed for divorce.
Now 31, she is hoping to get attention with more, well, conventional onscreen exploits. Will fans follow Pam into the V.I.P. area? Something tells us they just might.
How do you feel about everything that has happened with Tommy?
I've learned a lot. And in a way, it looks negative, but it's all positive. My husband has definitely learned a lot. And, you know, it's all going to be good in the future...I really believe in fate. I believe I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be every moment of every day.
Many women who are abused never have the courage to speak up. Why did you?
You have to do what you have to do. And I have two little children, and I'll do anything to make sure they're in a loving environment.
It seems motherhood has really affected you.
I don't take as much crap as I used to. You know, once you give birth, once you have kids, you realize what's important in life, and you realize it's really not difficult to be a good person. And so when people aren't good around me, I tend to move away from that. There are so many good people in the world, and you want to surround your children with that. I gave birth at home both times--natural--with a midwife, in water...with nothing.
No anesthesia? No doctor?
Nothing, not even Tylenol.
That was pretty brave.
Brave! Oh, I have huge balls. Yes I do. My brother says that.
And yet sometimes you seem almost shy.
My mom can't believe I was in Playboy, because growing up, I was very shy. I had a real strong imagination. I won awards for creative writing. There's the person who lives inside my head and the person I really am.
But how can a shy person bare it all for the world?
Playboy is really a different side of me that I didn't know was there. Some of my happiest times--and this seems kind of crazy--are doing photo shoots. I love them because I can be anybody I want in a split second. It's harder to maintain that over a television show or on film, but I can be 6 billion different people in a roll of film. I still don't like looking at the pictures, though.
Why not?
I love doing what I do, but I don't like seeing the finished product. I'm starting to. I like my new show and watching dailies.But I've done things before where I couldn't watch the show.
What things?
Well, actually Tommy has never seen an episode of Baywatch. I wouldn't let anybody watch anything. My mom has seen them. That's a little different.
What kind of a kid were you?
Always in trouble. I was a drama queen right from a very young age.
What things did you do to get into trouble?
I put my brother in a barrel and told him not to come out until I told him to. Then I alerted the whole town that he was missing. The cops were there and the fire department. When they found him, he said, "I can't come out till Pam tells me to."
You really fell into acting. Do you like it? Is it something you'd always wanted to do?
I never knew this is what I wanted to do when I started. I was like...well, this is interesting, but I don't think I could ever be any good at this.
Has that changed?
I'm having fun on the show. I'm working with some great people and great writers. And it's such a combination of everybody. When you see somebody on television who you think is a good actor or actress, you don't realize that it's a combination of so many things.
It's not just them. It's the writers, the editors, the people in production. I have such a great group around me right now that I have a lot more confidence in that department. And I'm loving it.
How does it feel to be the star, actually the real VIP of your own show?
I never realized that being with a studio was so...it's like being married. It's so sweet. They're so worried about me. I think people are kind of drawn to me because I'm very honest about myself and my personal life. I just think they're always worried that I'm actually going to say something about my life.
I'm not going to go on and on about my personal life, but I think I've been a very strong person, and I think I've gone through a lot of things a lot of other people have. I don't think I'm any different from anybody else. But life has lots of challenges, and you always come out of them. So, I think I'm a good example of that.
You've had some rough patches. Which was the roughest?
Lately, with my husband--that was very, very unexplainable. But it's another thing I know we'll get through. It's very hard.
Is there something you want to do that you haven't done?
I played saxophone for seven years in school, and there's a musical side of me that's aching to come out. I sang all through school. I sang all the solos and sang in a jazz choir until one stupid boyfriend told me I couldn't sing. And I didn't sing or dance anymore after that.
I think it was just a controlling thing. But I'm just aching every day to do it, and I think someday I will. My brother's a musician, and I've been saying we should go into a recording studio and record something. But I still have that mental block.
Who has most inspired you in your life?
I didn't realize the impact that my relationship with my grandfather had on my life until much later. He's not around anymore. He passed away when I was 11. But he taught me all the principles of how I run my life.
He was a very spiritual person. He taught me how to meditate, and he always said I wasn't an extension of anybody else or the town I lived in. He said I had a new life to do whatever I want with and to be a good person and to just take opportunities as they come and go, with the flow, day by day.
Interview with Patrick Stoner
Patrick Stoner : Cute kitty. . .
Pamela Anderson Lee : [smiles] Thanks. I love leopards. I just visited a woman who breeds a combination of leopards and domestic cats -- leopard cats. Tommy [Pamela's husband] and I just love them. They get to be 15 pounds, but they're so docile, so loving. We want to get some for our house.
Patrick Stoner : Sort of guard cats?
Pamela Anderson Lee : [laughs] Sort of. But they're so beautiful, and they're domesticated. They're cats, but they have the marking of leopards. We are going to get a couple of them.
Patrick Stoner : OK--to work: You're on the TV show that is the most-watched series in the world [Baywatch]. What did you learn about the difference between doing a hit TV show and a film?
Pamela Anderson Lee : Doing a film is consuming. I worked 18 hours a day. On Baywatch. I would work from sunup to sundown, but we shot a week's show in four days. We shot Barb Wire for four months. It was grueling, going from one to the other.
Interviews with Sara Switzer
Despite her Canadian roots, Pamela Anderson is the prototypical California girl--with the hair, the voice, and especially the body, to prove it. But we already know about the body. She's graced the cover of Playboy more than any other woman in history (10 times), and now the life of Pamela Anderson, sex symbol, is changing. Her revelations about her battle with hepatitis C, as well as a difficult custody battle over her two children with ex-husband Tommy Lee--one that's helped to make her an advocate for women's rights--has transformed the world's favorite lifeguard from pinup girl to crusader. Or maybe it's just that she's always been a little bit--make that a whole lot--of both.
SARA SWITZER: Hi, Pamela, how are you?
PAMELA ANDERSON: I'm good. Life as a single mom--I'm rushing from summer camp, coming home, making beds; I'm running all over the place. So if I sound out of breath that's why. I mean, it's always something. Baseball, surfing, karate ... and that's just today.
SARA SWITZER: [laughs] What's your favorite thing about being a mom?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Everything. I'm an ubermother. [laughs] I'm involved in everything. I love to cook, and I'm teaching my kids how to cook. It's really fun. I'm actually writing a vegetarian cookbook for kids. What I love most about being a mom is that I am able to sit here with these two miracles and watch them grow up. I guide them, but really I'm just along for the ride.
SARA SWITZER: How's L.A.?
PAMELA ANDERSON: It's beautiful. It's really gorgeous today--already clear, not foggy at all.
SARA SWITZER:When you were a little girl in Canada did you dream of moving to California?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Oh yeah. I think everybody does. Especially in Canada, where I was from, it seemed like everyone wanted to come to California.
SARA SWITZER: Why?
PAMELA ANDERSON: It's the weather, I think. When you live in a place like Vancouver Island, where it rains a lot, the grass is always greener. Now that I'm here, I like Canada more than I used to.
SARA SWITZER: You do?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Vancouver Island is gorgeous, absolutely beautiful, and I miss the seasons. Here, I don't know what I do in a year--it's just one big blur--whereas back home I'd know what I did last fall, last spring, last winter. In California, you're on the beach at Christmas. In a bikini. [laughs]
SARA SWITZER: What's your ideal day in Los Angeles?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Well, first of all, I don't live in L.A. I'm in Malibu. [laughs] I don't go over the hill that often, and when I do it's like you put your armor on, go out there, do what you've got to do, and get back to the beach. After I talk to you I'm going to walk my dogs for a couple miles on the beach. I've got a golden retriever who's 12 but like a puppy, and then I have this little rescue dog that talks to me the entire time we walk. He's funny. We don't know what he is.
SARA SWITZER: You've been through a lot in the past year. You're in the middle of a custody battle at the moment, right?
PAMELA ANDERSON: I'm at the end of it. I feel so bad for people who are [involved in these cases], and don't have the funds that I do--I've spent 0,000 dollars so far. In the research I've done for my own case--about domestic violence and how it's so typical, and the tactics used against women--I've learned about how unfairly women are treated in the court system. It's a real problem.
SARA SWITZER: What did it feel like for you to go public with the fact that you have hepatitis C?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Well, someone else made it public for me. We don't know who, but it got to the press. They made it into a real negative, saying that I got it from breast implants, something sensational that the tabloids would pick up on. It's so stupid. I didn't want to seem irresponsible, and plus, I can't lie, so when someone asked me, I said, "I have it, but I'm being treated." I'm taking care of my life. I look after myself and, no matter what people think, I'm a very healthy person. I am not this raving drunk, drug addict, crazy person--that's just an image created by the media. And it's crap. I happen to be a cheap drunk. If I have a glass of wine, I'm on my ear.
SARA SWITZER: How are you feeling now?
PAMELA ANDERSON: I feel good. I'm really healthy. They rate a liver from zero to four. Zero is a healthy liver, and I'm a one. They said it was a miracle that my liver is as healthy as it is. So they said, "Keep doing what you're doing."
SARA SWITZER: I understand that you were going to start more aggressive treatment in December but you've decided to wait?
PAMELA ANDERSON: I have a type of hepatitis C that is easily treatable, and my doctor told me that he wants to wait. If I did have to be treated right away, I would jump into it. I was ready for December. I was like, "You know what? I don't care if I lose my hair. I don't care if I am sick. I want to get this out of my body and get on with the rest of my life!"
SARA SWITZER: It's wonderful that you've chosen to take your experience public. As a popular figure, you have a tremendous amount of power, and it's helpful to put the information out there.
PAMELA ANDERSON: Well, it's nice because there are so many more people getting tested for hepatitis now. UCLA (Medical Center] called and said there are something like four times the amount of people coming in to be tested since I went public.
SARA SWITZER: That's amazing.
PAMELA ANDERSON: The most important thing is to stop the spread of the disease. To do that you don't put anybody at risk. You don't share razors, you don't share toothbrushes, you don't share needles, obviously. You don't share a needle with the pope, you know? People should not, in this day and age, be doing anything like that.
SARA SWITZER: I read that you're planning a charitable motorcycle ride to raise money for hepatitis research. Is that still happening?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Hell, yeah. It's scheduled for October 27. I've got everybody coming, so it's going to be great. It's kind of like a love ride, but it's for hepatitis. [laughs]
SARA SWITZER: You're quite an activist.
PAMELA ANDERSON: I always have been. I've always been causing trouble, stirring the pot. They called me STPP-Stir The Pot Pam--when I was little. My dad hunted and I threw a huge stink, threw myself in front of the truck. I've never considered myself an actress--I've always thought, Great, I'm on the beach. I get to bring my dog to work. I'm happy. I'm having babies. I'm married to a rock star. Oops, that's a big mistake! Oops, I'm marrying another rock star! [both laugh]
SARA SWITZER: So, how's it going with Bob [Ritchie], Kid Rock?
PAMELA ANDERSON: It's um... it's going. [laughs]
SARA SWITZER: Are you guys engaged?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Yeah, we're engaged. Recently I said on Lary King [Live], "We're in the trenches," and everyone thought, 'Oh no, they broke up!" So then I said, "No, every relationship is in the trenches--I wouldn't want it to be anywhere else." If you understand my personality, you understand that. It means we're working on our relationship, and we care about it enough to work on it. We both have kids, we both have issues, we both have careers, we live in two different places.
SARA SWITZER: Does he still live in Detroit?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Yeah. And he wants me to move there. I went for the summer and lasted five days. I told him: "Every inch I'm away from the beach is taking years off my life." And he's like, "You're so dramatic!" [both laugh] But I feel it's true. I have to have one foot in the ocean. But he's a great person, and he's got good intentions.
SARA SWITZER: What made you fall in love with him?
PAMELA ANDERSON: I love his energy, his charisma, his personality, his talent. And he's gorgeous and sexy. I could go on and on. He's funny and he's a sweetheart. He cares and he's a good dad. What more could you ask for? He gets up early, and he'll sing me a song that he wrote me, and it's like.. . wow. I don't know what to do with that. I've just got to give in. [laughs]
SARA SWITZER: Did you enjoy the photo shoot for Interview?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Karl Lagerfeld was here, in my garage. That was very surreal. I was told, "Karl Lagerfeld is going to come with a couple of people. They're going to be at your house and they're going to do a whole makeup and hair thing, everything like that." So I said, "Fine." I dropped my kids off at camp, I came back, and there are motor homes and trucks everywhere. My street's very, very quiet, and no one brings anybody in here- it's very private. But there are these motor homes and 20 people in black suits, standing in the middle of my street. So I pull up in my Escalade--and you should see me: I'm in sweats, I've got my hair pulled back--and he started to take pictures. No makeup, no nothing.
SARA SWITZER: That's great. Au naturel.
PAMELA ANDERSON: Well, who knows. I see myself like that every day. I just don't want to gross people out.
SARA SWITZER: I've heard that Stan Lee has created a comic book character based on you. Can you tell me about that?
PAMELA ANDERSON: I came up with the name: Stripperella. I feel that every good Canadian girl has stripped at one time in her life--I'm just doing it backwards. I've had my career first, and now I want to be a stripper. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I want to be a stripper! I'm going to be animated, and I'm going to have a smaller waist and bigger boobs.
Interviews with Larry King
In an interview on CNN's "Larry King Live," Anderson said the column is her unedited "ramblings" about personal experiences. She also discussed some of her struggles and hopes for the future. The following is an edited transcript of the interview.
KING: Why are you going to [write the column for Jane]?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Well, it kind of came out of I was upset a little bit about this article that came out. And so [editor Jane Pratt and I] were e-mailing each other back and forth, and she liked what we were saying. And ... she said, "What can I do to rectify this? We love you, everyone loves you, my readers love you." And I said, "You know what, I want my own column. I don't want to be taken out of context anymore."
KING: What did they write about you that ticked you off?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Well, it just came off very harsh. It came off very harsh. It was about some of the custody things that were going on at the time.
KING: So, in your column -- is it your column? Are you answering letters?
PAMELA ANDERSON: It's rambling. I'm rambling. It's my own words, and it's just -- we're talking about different subjects, and I'm just drawing from experience and personal history.
KING: A new phase of your life?
PAMELA ANDERSON: I think so. This is definitely a new phase of my life. I'm going through a good, healthy transition.
KING: Did you want to be an actress?
PAMELA ANDERSON: No, no, and I still don't. And I'm not an actress. I don't think I am an actress. I think I've created a brand and a business.
KING: What do you want to be when you grow up, Pam?
PAMELA ANDERSON: I just keep saying I want to grow up and be a stripper. But that's probably not very good.
KING: You have a business though, right?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Yes. I have a business that I've -- just exploiting a brand that I've created worldwide.
KING: I see. And that's your prime interest?
PAMELA ANDERSON: And that is my prime interest -- besides my obviously dating Bob [musician Robert Ritchie, better known as Kid Rock].
KING: And we're going to get to motherhood. You never wanted to be an actress?
PAMELA ANDERSON: No, I didn't.
KING: So the "Baywatch" thing was for laughs?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Well, you know, it just fell into my lap really. It was a lot of hard work, and once I got into it, I liked really building a character and a persona. And I started having fun with it, and I realized this is really a business and the joke isn't on me anymore. The joke is kind of, ha-ha, on you. And that's how "VIP" came about, just poking fun at the image.
KING: How long were you on that show?
PAMELA ANDERSON: I did five seasons of "Baywatch," and I did four seasons of "VIP." I've been around awhile.'I'm still scared to death'
KING: How serious is [your relationship] with Kid Rock?
PAMELA ANDERSON: I could say right now we're in the trenches, right. We're just working on things.
KING: You care for each other a lot?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Oh, yes. We love each other very much. But it's a difficult life, a difficult life. And I want what's best for my kids. And he has a son.
KING: Did your first experience, maybe, with Tommy Lee scare you off others?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Absolutely. Absolutely. I'm still scared to death. Are you kidding? And I need to resolve a lot of issues with that, I think, before I can really move on and have another serious commitment.
KING: Why do you think, Pamela, you were -- tend to be and have been victimized?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Well, you know, I grew up in a very -- in an alcoholic home, and there was violence in my household. And I think it's just my model of a relationship. And when I've gotten into any kind of relationships, it just seems to -- you re-create the pattern even though you say you're never, ever going to do that, you're never going to have the same relationship.
My poor mom is -- she's still with my father. My father is a great grandfather. He's a wonderful grandfather, but he's a terrible husband. And my mom still suffers because she's -- it is verbal abuse. It used to be physical abuse. And it's just sad to see.
I came from that, and I've just somehow been re-creating that in my life but to a lesser degree. I think I'm doing better. I think there are issues obviously I need to resolve in myself before I can, you know, move into a real healthy ...
KING: How many relationships have you been in, would you say, where you have been abused?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Well, one -- well, I mean, a couple. My first relationship was very violent.
KING: Why don't -- men don't understand this, so I'm going to ask it simply. The first time you're struck, why aren't you gone?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Well, I think the first thing you lose in an abusive relationship is your self-worth. And I think it is really difficult to leave a relationship when you feel like nothing and you've already been so belittled because it starts with verbal abuse. It starts with really demeaning somebody.
And by the time it gets to physical abuse, you really have no strength to leave. You feel like this is the only person that's going to be with you because they keep telling you that you're ugly, you're not -- you're stupid. You're all these different things.
KING: Yes, but you can't look in the mirror and believe that?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Yes, you can. Of course you can.
The only person you want to be admired by really is the person that you're in love with. I mean, you want admiration from other people, but, you know, it is so important and so destructive when you lose your self-esteem.
I eventually have gotten out of it. I have gotten out of it.
KING: But it's not easy.
PAMELA ANDERSON: It's not easy. No. The hardest thing I ever had to do was go through [what] I went through. What gave me the strength really is my children.
Dealing with disease
KING: OK: hepatitis C. When were you diagnosed -- how do you deal with it?
PAMELA ANDERSON: How do you deal with it? Well, when I first was diagnosed, I thought obviously I was dying. When I first -- well, actually, my doctor told me, "You know this little glitch in your blood work? You have hepatitis C." And I said, "OK, how do I get rid of it?" And he said, "You can't."
KING: How long ago was this?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Just over a year ago.
KING: What symptoms did you have?
PAMELA ANDERSON: I didn't really have any symptoms. That's the whole problem.
KING: It was just a checkup?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Yes, it was just a checkup, the regular checkup. And I had all my blood work done. It was, you know, for a movie. And you had to get checkups when you do movies for insurance reasons. And that's, I think, how it came about.
And then I started reading about it and realized that there's no cure and that, you know, there's liver transplants, liver cancer, psoriasis, all this kind of stuff going on and it just scared me. I thought -- you start facing your own mortality, you start realizing that you might die. Now I realize that there's actually a cure for it.
KING: Which is?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Interferon with these other [drugs] ...
KING: That's a tough drug, though -- side effects.
PAMELA ANDERSON: There's lots of side effects. And I'm thinking of doing it in December. It's going to be a year of basically having the flu. Your hair falls out. It's a little kind of chemotherapy kind of -- throwing up.
KING: You've got to do it though.
PAMELA ANDERSON: I want to do it for my kids because I don't want to die basically.
But I did have a liver biopsy. And a liver is rated from zero to four. Four is cirrhosis, cancer, you know, and liver transplant. My liver is -- and a healthy liver is zero. So I'm a one.
And they said it's a miracle that my liver is as healthy as it is. And they said keep doing what you're doing, you're taking good care of yourself. And I'm vegetarian. I look after myself. I don't drink that much. And definitely now my doctor said, "No drinking at all, as your doctor; but as your friend, you can have a glass of red wine every once in a while."
KING: Do you know what caused it?
PAMELA ANDERSON: I do know what caused it. I know that when my doctor told me that when I was first married that we had a full physical -- Tommy and I had a physical when we came back from Cancun after we were married. And he had told Tommy that he has hepatitis C, and he has to disclose this to me. You know, it's the only thing he should do.
KING: He never told you?
PAMELA ANDERSON: And he never told me, even though he told the doctor that he did tell me.
Then the only thing I can think of is when we shared a needle getting a tattoo. And then when I came back from there a while ago I talked to my doctor and my doctor said, "Well, you have this in your blood work, and you know how you got it."
And I said, no. And he goes, "Well, your husband didn't tell you that he has hepatitis C?" And I said, "No, he didn't tell me that." And he said, "Well, he told me that he told you that." So he felt like he could talk to me about it. And I said, "No, he never said it." So he never told me.
So that's how he believed that I got hepatitis C.
KING: Did you confront Tommy Lee about why he did not tell you?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Yes.
KING: And what did he say?
PAMELA ANDERSON: "I don't have it." He was in denial about it, even though my doctor tells me he does have it, and he has told people when we had our evaluation done, that he does have it. But it's just a public perception thing.
KING: So he's not being treated?
PAMELA ANDERSON: No, he will not admit that he even has it hardly.
It's just -- you have to be treated. And the reason you have to be treated, or the reason you should be tested if you think you fall into any of the categories, any of the reasons you can get it, is because we want to stop the spread of the disease because there are simple things you can do: You don't share razors; you don't share toothbrushes; you don't share needles obviously.
KING: Are you writing about this?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Yes, we're writing about all this. And there are simple ways that you cannot infect other people. And people that are living in denial about it or are not willing to get tested are spreading the disease. And it's just one in four -- one in 20 Americans have hepatitis C that we know about.
KING: Do you worry about future children?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Yes, I do, and that's why I want to make sure that I've, you know, I've taken care of -- I'm going to go through the treatment.
You know who I actually saw on your show was Naomi Judd. And I called Naomi and I talked to her, and she's a wonderful mentor for me, and she's been wonderful.
She's a great lady. She's got a great heart, and she's been really helpful, and she's like, I can fight this now, and I'll win and I won't have it anymore, and then I'll think of other children. But I really do believe that it's not going to take me down. I'm too healthy.
KING: The interferon starts when?
PAMELA ANDERSON: I think I'm going to start in December.
KING: Why not tomorrow?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Well, right now, I mean, I'm at home with my kids, and I'm just me. I don't have a nanny. I don't have any help in my home. And I like to just be hands-on with my kids. And this is going to be a real blow. I need to really set up my life so I have help and, you know, when they're back in school, it's over the summer.
And I just want to figure out a way to make it easy on everybody. But I have to -- it takes planning. It takes planning.
KING: By the way, there is -- if you want information and a free test of hepatitis, whether you might have it, call 1-888-4HEPUSA. That's [1-888-443-7872]. Pamela is involved with that group, right?
Are you [a role model]?
PAMELA ANDERSON: Well, I think unfortunately celebrities get thrown into role model situations, and you think about marriage, how marriage is 58 percent divorce rate right now, and we don't really have a lot of good family role models anymore. I think that's what's most important is our family and our parenting skills and keeping our families together.
That's where all of our problems start, and that's where all the solutions start, too. And I think when you're looking at a celebrity couple, when you're at -- I mean, it's even higher divorce rate, when it comes to high-profile people, because it's who knows, getting married for the wrong reasons, whatever it is.
So I feel like I can be a good role model as a mother because I love being a mom and I have great advice for everybody when it comes to mothering. I have terrible advice for relationships. I can't follow that myself.
But being a role model in that I'm a free spirit, and that I've done what I've wanted. I'm self-made. I've created my own career in my life, and I've had a lot of fun doing it. I think that's good.
