In an interview with 60 Minutes Australia on Sunday, Pamela Anderson spoke openly about everything from her history-making work with Playboy, to her relationship with WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange, but it was her candid, controversial thoughts on modern feminism and the #MeToo movement that sparked national interest and made headlines.
While explaining to her interviewer that she felt Playboy was an "empowering" enterprise for women, and herself in particular, she began speaking about twenty-first-century feminism, calling the movement "a bore," denouncing #MeToo survivors' legitimacy and claiming that the overall movement has gotten to be "too much." "I think this feminism can go too far," Anderson said. "I'm a feminist, but I think that this third-wave feminism is a bore."
Without much probing, Anderson went on to voice more specific grievances with the #MeToo movement, stating that, in her eyes, men are the real victims. "I think it paralyzes men," she said. "This Me Too movement is a bit too much for me. I'm sorry, I'll probably get killed for saying that," to which her interviewer quickly replied: "You will."
But Anderson didn't stop there: After voicing her concerns with #MeToo, the former Playboy model explained how she would act if she ever found herself in the company of Harvey Weinstein, or another like him, stating that some things "are just common sense," and again seemingly suggesting that the victims of the #MeToo movement were at fault.
"My mother taught me: Don't go to into a hotel with a stranger. And if someone answers the door in a bathrobe and it's supposed to be a business meeting, maybe I should go with somebody else," she said. "I think that some things are just common sense. Or if you go in, get the job," she said, laughing. "I'm Canadian. I'm going to speak my mind, OK? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm not politically correct, maybe."
“Feminism can go too far. I'm a feminist, but I think that this third wave of feminism is a bore. I think it paralyses men.” Pamela Anderson criticises the #MeToo movement, warning women to use “common sense” @PamFoundation #60Mins
Anderson is one of a handful of female celebrities to have openly denounced the #MeToo or Time's Up movements. Before Anderson, 74-year-old French actress Catherine Deneuve, known for her decades-long career, signed an open letter challenging the #MeToo movement and its French counterpart #Balancetonporc, claiming that the campaigns contribute to “puritanical” and “totalitarian” thinking. Similarly, French film icon Brigitte Bardot previously referred to the movement as "hypocritical and ridiculous."
And while Anderson claims to be a feminist herself, her comments appear to align more cohesively with antifeminist rhetoric. Just one month ago President Donald Trump similarly empathized with America's young men in the midst of the hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, stating at a campaign rally that "it’s a very scary time for young men in America" right now. Similarly, First Lady Melania Trump said women need "hard evidence" when making sexual assault claims against men.
(Glamour Magazine)