Pamela Anderson's name, image, relationships, and supposed life story have been highly documented and circulated for over three decades, however she never told it herself until her recent documentary, Pamela, A Love Story.
The Netflix documentary finally gave her fans a glimpse into who she really is, in her way, and has since been nominated for two Emmys.
Her son Brandon Thomas Lee, born out of the bombshell's infamous marriage to rocker Tommy Lee, spearheaded the revelatory project, which he says was all an effort for him to be able to give his mom the ability to take ownership of her story.
Speaking with People, he maintained: "I wasn't necessarily out to make a film that made her look her best," adding: "I was just going to tell the truth."
Brandon explained: "I basically wanted to bring to light the human that she is, the Pamela that nobody knew," and continued: "There were so many assumptions about her, around her career and her decisions and her lifestyle and all these things. But you really don't know what you really don't know about a person."
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He added: "There's always so much going on underneath the surface, and in her case, an extreme amount more going on than people ever realized."
The documentary has since been nominated for Best Documentary or Nonfiction Special and Best Documentary Music Composition at the upcoming Emmys (which were recently postponed to January), and he confessed: "I couldn't believe it."
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The producer and actor explained: "At the same time, my goal with the film was never an Emmy, or for people to recognize me. I would just think about this small-town girl who showed up in L.A. and got completely mistreated and misused and hurt, and how it kind of created a monster, or whatever people thought Pamela Anderson was at the time."
© GettyBrandon also noted that his mom had no creative control over the project, and recalled: "I was so nervous when I screened it for her and my brother Dylan," adding: "I was like, 'Oh God, she's going to hate it!'' It was very intense, and there were a lot of emotions. But she called me on the way home and was like, 'Bravo. It's very good. And it's very thorough!'"
Plus, it paid off even beyond his mom's praise and approval. He said: "People will come up to her and say things like, 'I used to not like you, I used to think you did all this stuff for fame and personal gain, but I like you. You're a real person.'"
© GettyHe added: "To know that a film, telling a story, can have a real impact on someone's life, that's the real payoff."
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© GettyThough Pamela of course had to grapple with her highs and lows playing out in the public eye, Brandon noted: "She made a lot of sacrifices I think, to keep me and my brother out of the public eye. I think both of my parents did a pretty good job!"
And as for what might be next for his mom, he said: "For the first time in her life she's able to think about businesses she wants to start, create products she likes, make a career doing what she wants to do, as opposed to what people tell her to do."
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