Hulu's "Pam & Tommy" may seem over the top and outlandish, but if you lived through the '90s [1], you probably remember a lot of these events happening in real time. When Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee met and fell in love, they were the talk of the town. Their romance was loud, and you'd be hard pressed to find a celebrity couple more obsessed with each other. But when their headline-grabbing sex tape appeared seemingly out of nowhere, the conversation surrounding the couple took a turn [2]. These events are the center of the new Hulu show — and Hulu stayed strikingly close to real life [3]. Wondering if some of those scenes in the show are fact or fiction? We have answers.
Did Tommy Lee Actually Lick Pamela Anderson's Face?
It's probably not surprising that this one is true. According to "USA Today," Lee wrote in his memoir, "Tommy Land," that he did, in fact, lick her face the night they met [5]. "I grab my bottle of Cristal, slam the shot, and go over and sit right next to her," he writes in his book. "I don't say a word. I just, like, lick the side of her face." This was after Anderson bought shots for the bar — just like in "Pam & Tommy."
Did Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee Really Get Married on the Beach in Cancun?
They did! "Pam & Tommy" is very accurate in Anderson and Lee's origin story. They did meet and have a complete whirlwind of a romance, getting married on a beach in Cancun, Mexico [6], after just a few days together. Anderson even wore a white bikini, like Lily James does in the Hulu series.
Did Pamela Anderson Really Not Know Tommy Lee's Last Name When She Married Him?
While we can't be certain exactly what Anderson and Lee did and didn't know about each other when they got married, we do know that they didn't know a whole lot. According to "USA Today," the couple really did spend the flight home from Cancun asking each other mundane questions [7] to get to know each other better.
Did Tommy Lee Really Have a Conversation With His Penis?
There's one particularly graphic scene in "Pam & Tommy" where Tommy (played by Sebastian Stan) has a conversation with his penis about being in love with Pamela. While his penis didn't respond in the conversation in real life, Lee wrote in his memoir that he truly did have a bit of a pep talk with himself and little Tommy in the early days of his courtship. Producer Robert Siegel told "Variety" that the scene was inspired directly by Lee's memoir [8].
Did Tommy Lee Really Pull a Gun on Rand Gauthier?
"Pam & Tommy" shows Rand Gauthier (played by Seth Rogen [9]) doing work on the couple's Malibu, CA, mansion before getting fired for shoddy workmanship. When Rand comes back to the house later to pick up his tools, Tommy pulls a gun on him, telling him to leave. According to the real-life Gauthier's retelling of the events to "Rolling Stone" in 2014 [10], this truly did happen. "I was never really that popular with people," he said. "But I had never been held at gunpoint. It screwed with my head."
Did Rand Gauthier Actually Steal Tommy Lee's Safe by Himself?
Gauthier told "Rolling Stone" that he worked alone in stealing the safe [11], throwing a white fur rug over himself to appear as Lee's giant sheepdog if caught on camera. However, the safe was huge, and Lee didn't think it was possible for one person to steal the safe [12] alone. He says in his memoir, per "USA Today," that it would have taken "a crane, a flatbed and a crew of guys."
Did Rand Gauthier Really Have a Hard Time Selling the Sex Tape?
"Pam & Tommy" makes it seem like Gauthier had a really hard time actually selling the sex tape — and that's exactly what happened back in the mid-'90s. Gauthier told "Rolling Stone" that he and Milton Ingley approached several porn distributors, but no one was interested in the tape [13] because they knew it was stolen. Famed porn icon Ron Jeremy, who was offered the tape, told the magazine, "We passed. Porn was so strict and scary back in those days. If you're f*cking, you better believe you gotta have a release."