Picture Supply: Getty / Steve Starr / CORBIS / Corbis

Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee are identified for a lot of elements of their wild romance — the over-the-top appearances, the loudly shared lust between them, and, in fact, the intercourse tape. The entire story is on the heart of Hulu’s present “Pam & Tommy” and Anderson’s new Netflix documentary “Pamela, a Love Story,” however there’s extra to it than what you see on TV.

The entire sex-tape scandal — one of the crucial notorious and earliest within the historical past of sex-tape scandals — actually rocked the celeb world again when it occurred within the ’90s. For all the main points on what went down, maintain studying.

What is the True Story Behind Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s Intercourse Tape?

Anderson and Lee met in 1995 and fairly actually obtained married a couple of week later, in accordance with the Los Angeles Instances. Their whirlwind romance made waves in Hollywood, because the Mötley Crüe drummer and the “Baywatch” actor weren’t shy about exhibiting their affection for each other.

Whereas on their honeymoon on a ship in Lake Mead, the couple filmed almost an hour of personal footage, together with eight minutes of intercourse. They then tucked the footage away in a secure of their Malibu, CA, dwelling, the place they assumed it might keep till they determined to take it out. Sadly, they had been fallacious, because the footage would later be launched to the world with out their approval.

How Did Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s Intercourse Tape Get Out?

Anderson and Lee had been doing building on their dwelling in Malibu with a gaggle of employed folks. One among them, an electrician named Rand Gauthier, stole the secure containing the intercourse tape as a type of retaliation towards the couple after getting fired. Gauthier additionally informed Rolling Stone that Lee pulled a gun on him, which he stated “screwed” together with his head.

Gauthier stole the secure, believing all it contained was Lee’s weapons and Anderson’s jewellery, so the presence of their intercourse tape was a shock. He finally made copies of the video to buy round on the market.

A number of months later, in early 1996, Lee and Anderson realized the tape was lacking and filed a police report, in accordance with the Los Angeles Instances. Quickly after, they filed costs towards Penthouse journal, which had gotten ahold of the tape and ran photos from it in print. The couple filed additional injunctions towards anybody who had a duplicate of the intercourse tape, nevertheless it was too late, and nothing caught.

Rolling Stone stories that it took two years for the video to go viral, finally raking in $77 million in simply 12 months after the virality took maintain. Although stolen, the tape was solidified as the primary of its type.

Picture Supply: Getty / S. Granitz / WireImage

Did Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee Make Cash Off Their Intercourse Tape?

After quite a few failed makes an attempt at suppressing the discharge of their intercourse tape in courtroom, the couple determined to place the tape behind them, warily signing an settlement with Seth Warshavsky, a person who owned a streaming website known as Membership Love. It is unknown how a lot the deal was for, however the couple hoped signing it might restrict the tape’s distribution, so that they had been shocked when Warshavsky made a take care of Vivid Leisure to distribute the tape to adult-video shops throughout the nation.

The tape is estimated to have generated over $77 million in earnings — not a penny of which Anderson or Lee ever noticed. In a 2015 “Watch What Occurs Stay” look, Anderson stated, “I made not one greenback. It was stolen property. We made a deal to cease all of the shenanigans. I used to be seven months pregnant with Dylan and pondering it was affecting the being pregnant with the stress and stated, ‘I am not going to courtroom anymore. I am not being deposed anymore by these attractive, bizarre lawyer males. I do not wish to speak about my vagina anymore or my public intercourse — something.'”

How A lot Cash Did Rand Gauthier Make Off Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s Intercourse Tape?

If there’s any single silver lining on this state of affairs, it is that Gauthier by no means made a lot cash off of the tape. Whereas he made some cash initially promoting VHS copies of the tape, the cash dried up when bootleggers stole the tape and circulated it with out his involvement. With no authorized declare to the tape, he was unable to sue the bootleggers, and it was unimaginable to make any cash off of it from then on.

Did Rand Gauthier Go to Jail For Stealing Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s Intercourse Tape?

Regardless of being the one to steal the tape from Anderson and Lee, Gauthier by no means truly went to jail. In reality, there was little punishment for the unfold of the intercourse tape. Rolling Stone stories that the courts issued an injunction in 1997 towards Milton Ingley, who had reportedly helped Gauthier store the tape round, nevertheless it was too late for a lot to be completed. The video had been shared in every single place, and the injury was completed. Gauthier was by no means even punished for stealing the secure within the first place.