Pamela Anderson Defends Blaming Harvey Weinstein’s Victims: “[I] Will Not Get Coerced Into Apology”
Pamela Anderson has not had the smoothest 24 hours. Yesterday, the actress and animal rights advocate made some surprising comments about the women who have come forward with sexual assault allegations against infamous studio executive Harvey Weinstein. “I think it was common knowledge. That certain people or certain producers in Hollywood are people to avoid privately,” she told Megyn Kelly of Weinstein, whose film empire has since crumbled since celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Beckinsale came forward with their own accounts of his sexual misconduct. “You know what you’re getting in to if you go to a hotel room, alone.” Anderson’s victim-blaming continued with her questioning why women didn’t bring company along for their meetings — suggesting the fault of Weinstein’s sexual misconduct lay with the women he targeted rather than himself. “I just think there’s easy ways to remedy that,” she said. “That’s not a good excuse.”
After having a day to reflect on her comments though, and presumably catch up with all of the negative backlash stemming from them, Anderson has refused to give an apology. “[I] will not get coerced into apology,” she told TMZ. She also attempted to dismiss the controversy saying “This is not victim blaming” and referring to Weinstein as “a sexist pig and a bully.” Anderson elaborated on her unwillingness to apologize, writing on her Instagram, “I’m a deep thinker / I have a unique perspective. and consequence is part of my life. This is great. I am also an advocate for men. I just don’t agree with it all. Backlash is good. – I like this. My position is not ‘problematic’ because I don’t fall in line with the common herd or trend. … I think it’s very smart to be proactive. And I stand by what I say.”
There is a lot to unpack within her note, especially because it reiterates the same victim-blaming rhetoric she used in an interview with Megyn Kelly. “I’m trying to tell women as a survivor of childhood abuse myself,” she wrote. “It is important to be proactive as an adult who knows better – in defending themselves. Don’t get in cars with strangers #rideresponsibly- Don’t go to Hotel rooms alone for an audition. Women are powerful and smart and we can use all our charms in more positive ways.”
It was just this August when Anderson revealed she had become a student of feminism. “I’m writing a lot, and getting more involved in not just women’s issues but I’m looking at the history of women’s issues and thinking about feminism in general,” she told W. “I don’t want to be told how to to a woman by a man or a woman.”
