Hulu's hit limited series Pam & Tommy reveals the untold story behind the infamous sex tape leaked amid Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee's tumultuous love story in the 1990s. It's just as much a biographaical drama as it is a character study, diving deep into the experiences of everyone involved.
At the time, this story was popularized by both the star power of Lee and Anderson as well as the controversy surrounding such an invasion of privacy. While the show does a surprisingly accurate job revealing its true events, there remain some key details that were changed for the purposes of television. Be warned, as spoilers for the series follow.
The Events Before Pamela Anderson And Tommy Lee's Marriage Aren't So Clear
During the early episodes of Pam & Tommy, the story reflects back on how the couple originally met, fell in love, and married within the span of just a few days. Just before his impromptu proposal, Tommy remarks to his bandmate that he doesn't want to go "all the way" until he and Pa, are finally married.
This isn't quite the case for what actually happened between the couple in real life. No official of either Tommy Lee or Pamela Anderson mentions this promise made to one another. The private details of their first few nights together remain unclear.
Rand Gauthier Was Not Exactly As Depicted
In the show, Seth Rogan portrays Rand Gauthier, a former contractor working for Tommy Lee who eventually steals and leaks the famous tape. In the show, Gauthier is shown to be a timid, unthreatening, and overall defeated man looking to catch some kind of a break.
Real-life s of Gauthier are actually much different than his casting had fans originally pictured. Gauthier, at the time, was actually quite broad and dashing, in stark contrast to the average-looking man shown in Rogan's performance. In this way, it seems more possible that he actually went out and reluctantly worked for a loan shark as an enforcer to pay back the debt he owed on the tape's widespread sales.
One Burglar Couldn't Have Stolen Pam And Tommy's Safe Alone
In episode four of the series, Rand Gauthier hatches his master plan to get back at Tommy Lee for cheating him out of payment and stealing his tools. After shutting down his residential cameras and security, Gauthier dons a yak rug to disguise as the house dog and sneaks into the property.
The show actually depicts Gauthier with a single dolly lifting the safe, wheeling it out to his vehicle, and hoisting it up into his truck. In reality, Tommy Lee's memoirs claim that given the sheer size and weight of the safe, one would require some sort of crane or mechanical lift to actually move it. Therefore, it remains unclear as to whether Gauthier committed the heist alone or with a team, but his planning was meticulous to avoid detection on the property altogether.
Rand Gauthier Was Not A Carpenter On Tommy Lee's Property
Another detail that was changed about Gauthier was his profession on the show. While Pam & Tommy shows him to be a carpenter, he was in fact an electrician working on the property at the time. Nevertheless, it was still Lee's absurd demands and treatment that drove him over the edge.
From a koi pond to a water bed, those who worked on the property did testify that Lee's requests were constantly changing. On top of that, many of those workers who did not cooperate were either robbed of compensation or fired from the premises by Lee. The series most likely made Gauthier a carpenter in order to show the type of unfair labor and expectations that the crew had to work under, as well as introduce Lee's stubbornness to him firsthand.
Pamela Andserson's Tonight Show Appearance Wasn't Quite So Uncomfortable
One major moment in Episode 7 comes when Lily James' Pamela appears for the first time on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In it, he quickly asks Pamela about the experience of having the tape leaked out to the public, causing Pamela to quickly lash back at him for the remarks.
While the tape was a talking point on the actual show, Pamela's first appearance on the show did not have such a serious tone washed over each question. She mentioned the devastation she felt from the leak but did not fire back at Leno until he brought it up on her second Tonight Show appearance. At the time, stunts like this were used purely for better ratings, so this small change in the show was most likely made to show just how ruthless the media could mettle in Pamela's private life.
Pam And Tommy's Tape Did Not Spread As Quickly In Real Life
As Pam & Tommy picks up the narrative pace, the show transitions from a character study to the drama behind the tape's widespread appeal. Since Gauthier's procurement and internet distribution of it, the series represents the tape as an overnight hit that blew up in the media.
In reality, the tape did not have quite the same timeline. The tape was stolen from their property in late 1995 but did not make its way into mainstream media until 1997. This was due to the fact that, in 1995, adult entertainment was still largely retail-based. Until the rise of the Internet a few years later, Gauthier attempted to sell the tape to distributors who all refused, making it an underground venture for quite some time.
Pamela Anderson's Miscarriage Happened Before The Tape Was Stolen
In order to show the kind of stress Pamela was put under in the mid-90s, Pam & Tommy collectively depicts the publicity of her tape happening simultaneously with her efforts to have a child with Lee. For dramatic purposes, the series shows her tragic miscarriage at the same time the tape makes its way to the masses.
Pamela Anderson actually suffered this miscarriage in June 1995, whereas the tape was not discovered to have been stolen until early 1996. By this time, Anderson was already pregnant with another child who was thankfully delivered healthy later on that same year. Nevertheless, the two events created a tough situation for the rising actress, forcing her to manage her newfound parenthood with a shocking level of scrutiny from the media.