Pamela Anderson’s Backgammon Game at Age 12 with a 25-Year-Old Man Led to Real Childhood Trauma

Pamela Anderson and many celebrities before her have used their famous status to voice the voiceless. The eternal Malibu blonde bombshell revealed her traumatic stories of being sexually abused as a young girl.

During the Pamela Anderson Foundation launch in 2014, the “Baywatch” actress dropped the audience’s jaws with shocking revelations. The star revealed she was molested as a child and raped as a teenager.

“I did not have an easy childhood. Despite loving parents, I was molested from age six by a female babysitter.”

CHILDHOOD TRAUMA

Years later, Anderson had another traumatic experience at 12 years old. She went to a friend’s boyfriend’s house, and his older brother decided to teach her backgammon.

The actress explained that from the game, he started to massage her, which led to rape. She was 12, and he was 25. Anderson then shared with 200 guests present that night her third experience with sexual abuse:

“My first boyfriend in grade 9 decided it would be funny to gang-rape me, with six of his friends. Needless to say, I had a hard time trusting humans. I just wanted off this Earth.”

Her shocking confession was held as the opening speech at the Pamela Anderson Foundation that fights for protecting the environment, the Earth, and the animals.

When Anderson was raped, she didn’t know what to do and had no one to talk to about it. She knew her mother was already carrying a heavy burden, so she turned to nature and animals as a way to cope with her traumas.

At the risk of “overexposing” herself again, the former actress believed that sharing her most painful memories with the public might give people some perspective of why she was doing that.

A LEAP OF FAITH

She gained inspiration from her love for animals and nature, and they became her “only friend” until she had her own children. Anderson revealed she vowed to protect the animals and became loyal to the animal kingdom.

From such a dramatic childhood, Pamela Anderson made it to the entertainment industry and became one of the most recognizable faces of her time. She covered Playboy magazine for the first time when she was 22.

After starring in “Baywatch” and “Home Improvement,” she shared with the public that she’d found her “voice,” she helped animal causes in more than 20 countries all over the world.

THE #METOO MOVEMENT

Pamela Anderson isn’t the only woman to experience and share traumatic sexual abuse stories. Sexual assault and abuse are, unfortunately, Hollywood’s old friends.

In 2018, USA Today surveyed 843 women in the show biz, and 94% of them said they’d experienced some form of sexual harassment or assault. Yes, you read that right, 94%.

The women included in the statistic suffered some assault or have been harassed by an individual in a position of power, often higher than the accuser.

According to the same survey, one-fifth of the responders were forced to do something sexually at least once throughout their careers. 87% of the participants admitted to having received unwelcome sexual jokes, comments, or gestures.

The #MeToo Movement kicked off in 2006 when the actress Alyssa Milano tweeted and went viral. The term is used to raise awareness about the topic and helped thousands of women to come forward and share their stories of sexual abuse.

A VOICE FOR VICTIMS

Without the fear of risking their careers, these brave women gave voice to the voiceless. In the same USA Today survey, 75% of the women did not report their sexual harassment or assault because they were afraid of professional and/or personal retaliation.

Many female celebrities stood up for the cause, and many others revealed their stories—names like Amy Schumer, Halle Berry, Lady Gaga, Lucy Hale, etc.

While many women in Hollywood have experienced sexual abuse somehow, the Harvey Weinstein case is probably the most known -- and Allyssa Milano was one of his victims.

A list of high-profile men in politics, media, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood have been accused since the Weinstein case broke in 2006.

In 2018, Glamour published an explosive list of 100 powerful and famous men who are facing or have faced allegations of misconduct and/or sexual assault/harassment.

The list includes the self-help guru Tony Robbins, the former NBA player Luke Walton, “Cosmos” show host Neil deGrasse Tyson, the A-listers Morgan Freeman, and Michael Douglas, the R&B singer R.Kelly, actor Kevin Spacey, and many others.

Spacey was accused by eight former staff and cast members of “House of Cards” and 20 other individuals who worked with the actor at London’s Old Vic theater of misconduct and/or sexual harassment.

Another famous case is the R&B icon, R. Kelly. Over the past two decades, Kelly has been accused of making a sex tape with a minor, has been sued for sexual contact with minors, and in 2019, his ex-wife opened up about domestic violence.

THERE’S WORK TO BE DONE

These are just a few well-known names. The critical point about this sad news is that victims of sexual abuse no longer need to be silent. The long list of cases shows how the world is now reacting to sexual violence, that justice can be made, and how victims can hold their abusers accountable.

Despite many women who have come forward and shed light on such an important topic, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

According to another survey, more than half (65% of the responders) said they don’t believe some people in power will ever be held accountable for someone with less authority. The head of the Hollywood Commission said:

“People don’t believe their complaints will be taken seriously. [...]. And they DO believe there will be retaliation – whether you’re a victim or a bystander, there’s a belief you will be retaliated against if you complain."

Justice can still seem to be moving slow, but it doesn’t mean victims should stop fighting. The Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein cases are a reminder that abusers cannot be held accountable unless people are calling them out.