There was a time whenPamela Andersoncouldn’t escape the public limelight—a toxic level of discourse stemming from a wave of tabloid coverage surrounding her personal life, and deemed lowbrow artistic taste. TheBaywatchstar and sex symbol received a level of vitriol representative of an era of pop culture rooted in shameless misogyny, with the nadir of her relationship with the public revolving around her controversial relationship with rockerTommy Lee. Don’t look now, but Anderson is experiencing a career resurgence following her revelatory dramatic performance inThe Last Showgirl.
Anderson’s revival will be followed up with astarring role oppositeLiam Neesonin the upcoming legacy sequel toThe Naked Gun. From the beginning,Anderson has always been in on the joke, despite the ridicule she received throughout the years.Nowhere was this more apparent than in her hilarious supporting turn inBorat, who was more than privy toSacha Baron Cohen’s shock humor.
Pamela Anderson’s Breakthrough Comedic Role in ‘Borat’
Pamela Anderson, who received critical adoration and various precursor nominations but just missed out on an Academy Award nod for her turn inGia Coppola’s 2024 drama, is more than deserving of a second act. Her recent boom is less of a career comeback and more of a cultural correction to her depiction in the media. Female stars become labeled as sex symbols by the prudish press, which promptly causes the public and talent creators to dismiss any of their creative potential. Anderson, a devout philanthropist, has always been thoughtful, and she has plenty to demonstrate to audiences in her late ‘50s.
Filling in the role previously inhabited byPriscilla Presley, another celebrity overshadowed by media frenzy, Pamela Anderson plays the female lead in the re-imagining ofThe Naked Gun, a new film destined for success based on its shrewd casting alone, with Neeson capable of matchingLeslie Nielsen’s dry, monotone delivery. TheAkiva Schafferfilm is not Anderson’s first crack at absurdist and zany humor, as she is the central plot device inBorat, therevolutionary 2006 comedythat took the world by storm for its outrageous set pieces that blurred the line between fiction and documentary. Cohen’s titular Eastern European journalist exposed the ridiculousness of the heartland ofGeorge W. Bush’s America by subjecting oblivious people to his pranks.
After landing in America, Borat gazes atCJ Parker fromBaywatchon TVandimmediately falls in love with Pamela Anderson, and makes it his mission to make her his wife.An Oscar-nominated phenomenon at the time,Borathas somewhat fallen out of favor due to Cohen’s desperate bid for notoriety and failure to follow up his magnum opus. Not to mention, the references and sensibilities very much belong to a specific period, notably the glibness of having Anderson’s sexpot status as a punchline. The signature scene in the film, Borat’s fight with his friend Azamat (Ken Davitian), stemmed from their infatuation with Anderson, which results in Borat becoming disillusioned with her after watching the infamous Pam and Tommy sex tape.
Pamela Anderson Was In on the Joke and Shocked Audiences in ‘Borat’
Everything comes to a head when Borat meets Anderson at a book signing, where he proceeds to abduct her, running through the store until he is apprehended by security. Like the frat students in Borat interviews, most people were prone to laugh at Pamela Anderson, but she was game to play along withSacha Baron Cohen’s shenanigans.She was one of the few people shown on screen to be privy to the truth thatBoratwas a mockumentary.
Considering she was thrown into a giant sack and carried out of a Virgin Megastore, no one was surprised that Anderson was a hired actor, but still, she found it to be an honor to work with Cohen.“She was extremely good-humored about what happened to her,“directorLarry CharlestoldMTV, and regarding Borat’s obsession with her, Anderson felt that it was “a huge compliment.” Cohen put himself in danger of prosecution while filming these shocking public acts, some of which caused it to be banned in multiple countries, but he managed to hide Anderson’s involvement in the project from the press.
The secrecy behind her participation made this climactic gag all the more uproarious and audacious.In general, the surreptitious nature ofBorat’s filmmaking was the key to its viral success. Anderson didn’t even tellKid Rock, with whom she was in a relationship at the time, about her involvement in the film.According to her memoir, following the film’s world premiere, Rock screamed at her and called her a “whore.” Not long after, she split up with Kid Rock (another added perk about starring in the film).
By playing along with a bit about characters fawning over her sex appeal inBorat, Pamela Anderson proved that not only did she have a sense of humor, but she was also totally aware of herstatus in the public eye.
Boratis available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
