“I remember having to talk to an FBI recovering agent for a week or so about that property being stolen and it was so humiliating.”
Multi-hyphenate Lake Bell is opening up about how her stolen nude photos influenced her directing of Pam & Tommy.
Phillip Faraone / Getty Images
You might know the actor-writer from movies like It’s Complicated and No Strings Attached. Most recently, she voiced Black Widow in What If…?
The 42-year-old’s private pictures were leaked back in 2014 as part of a major celebrity hack titled “Celebgate,” which also targeted the likes of Jennifer Lawrence and Kaley Cuoco, who spoke up about it at the time.
Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images, Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images
Since 2018, five people involved in the scandal have been charged, their prison sentence ranging from 9 to 34 months.
“It was an unreal tsunami in the industry for private property being stolen by a hacking, and I was one of those people,” Lake told Insider in her first public comments on the incident.
Stefanie Keenan / Getty Images for Women In Film (WIF)
“I remember having to talk to an FBI recovering agent for a week or so about that property being stolen and it was so humiliating, and for me, it was so personal,” she added.
It was Lake’s personal connection to the subject matter at hand that led her to agree to direct two episodes of Pam & Tommy. The Hulu series traces the whirlwind romance between Pamela Anderson (Lily James) and Tommy Lee (Sebastian Stan) in the mid-’90s, as well as the couple’s stolen sex tape.
Erin Simkin / ©Hulu / Courtesy Everett Collection
“Reading through the series, I realized this is shockingly intelligent in its way of addressing exploitation while allowing for the viewer to laugh and enjoy,” Lake explained.
Erin Simkin / ©Hulu / Courtesy Everett Collection
Lake said she could empathize with the Baywatch star’s experience. “The disorientation that Pam Anderson felt when her stuff went viral, which wasn’t even the word at the time, I just have that knowledge. When I got hacked I went, ‘Fuck!’ It feels gross.”
Steve.granitz / WireImage / Getty Images
However, the director added that she can “only speak to my own experience of the exploitation of my own personal property,” and that the journey of making the series was therapeutic. “I just kind of connected through that,” she said.
Leading up to the series’ premiere, reports emerged that Pamela — who was not involved with the series — finds the unearthing of her trauma “very painful.”
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
According to multiple unnamed sources, the show adds to how “violated” she continues to feel over the stolen material and “re-exploits” her, turning her life into a “commodity for public consumption.” As a result, some fans — who pointed out the hypocrisy in a series nonconsensually exploring a leaked tape — have threatened to boycott the series in Pamela’s defense.
Head over to Insider to read Lake’s full interview.
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