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Pamela Anderson’s son, Brandon Thomas Lee, has shared candid details of his “mission” to change Hollywood’s narrative about his mother.
The former Baywatch star, 57, is attracting critical acclaim and awards buzz for her role in Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl. The film stars Anderson as Shelly, a veteran Las Vegas dancer on the verge of retirement.
It comes on the back of her successful Netflix documentary, Pamela, A Love Story,and her memoir Love Pamela: A Memoir of Prose, Poetry, and Truth.
Lee, 28, oversees the family’s business affairs including career opportunities that come through for his mother who he refers to as “Pamela” in interviews. Lee is the son of Anderson and her ex-husband and rock musician Tommy Lee, who endured a tumultuous relationship. The couple share two sons, of which Lee is the older.
Reflecting on Anderson’s portrayal as a “sex symbol”, Lee commented on how he felt his mother was “objectified” and positioned to the “male gaze” throughout his upbringing.
“The category she was in before, she was just very objectified and very made for the, you know, her whole career was just positioned towards the male gaze,” he told Variety.
“The reason I got involved, other than for various business reasons — my personal mission was to give my mom the opportunities she gave me as a child,” he continued.
“She would do anything for me. She showed up and was a very good mother. And at a certain point in your life, you become a protector.”
Lee said the family made a business decision to turn down “big opportunities” and stay “steadfast” in picking projects that allowed a more nuanced narrative.
Following the success of Anderson’s documentary, Lee said the family could see an “incredible public shift” in perceptions of the star. The Canadian actor, known for her glamorous appearance, has since adopted a more pared-back look, declining to wear make-up.
“She wasn’t this sex symbol anymore,” he said. “She was a human being, and I think people were looking at her in a completely new light. And I feel like that kind of reintroduced her to the world. It feels like everyone’s rooting for her.”
He said, “The documentary and book gave Pamela the opportunity to own her narrative and really present that story to the world.
“The goal of those projects was to get people to understand and get to know Pamela because there was so much misconception around her and who she was.”
He added, “I knew at that point that there was going to be this great shift in her career, because she was no longer this misunderstood or threatening personality.”
Commenting on his role in her newfound success, Lee said: “I knew from a very early age that I was going to eventually be the one that put the stake in the ground for my family and rally around that.”
