Lorde has shared that she watched Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s sex tape, and was moved by how “beautiful” she found it.
The New Zealand singer shared the update during a new interview with Rolling Stone, and spoke about her experience of MDMA and psilocybin therapy. The latter was one something she underwent in response to the feelings of stage fright that she had battled with since childhood.
During the interview, she explained that the drugs led to her feeling a sense of freedom in her body and mind and, for reasons she isn’t aware of, led to her watching the infamous sex tape made by Anderson and Mötley Crüe drummer Lee.
“I found it so beautiful. And maybe it’s fucked up that I watched it, but I saw two people that were so in love with each other, and there was this purity,” she told the outlet, sharing that she watched it back in 2022.
“They were jumping off this big boat.… They were like children,” she added. “They were so free. And I just was like, ‘Whoa. Being this free comes with danger.’”
The tape was the centre of controversy in the mid-’90s, when it was stolen and distributed without permission from either Anderson or Lee. The former has spoken about the impact the video has had on her in the years since, and recalled multiple times how she considered it to be a traumatic moment of her life.
Anderson and Lee’s relationship – which ended in 1998 – was also made into a television series by Hulu called Pam & Tommy, and saw Lily James and Sebastian Stan take on the roles of the two of them.
The actor and model would later open up about why she had nothing to do with the series. “Why would I want to go through that again?” she said in Netflix documentary Pamela, a Love Story (via The Hollywood Reporter). She also described the controversy around the tape as “super humiliating” and something that made her into a “caricature” to the public.
For Lorde, the interview came as she is gearing up to share her new album ‘Virgin’ on June 27. It will mark her fourth album and first since 2021’s ‘Solar Power’. It has already been previewed by the lead single ‘What Was That’.
She has also announced that she will be hitting the road again this year for some headline tour dates across the UK, Europe and North America in celebration of the album. These kick off in September in Austin, Texas, and run through to December, where the tour wraps up with a final stop in Stockholm.
Special guests for the shows include The Japanese House, Nilüfer Yanya, Chanel Beads, Empress Of and Oklou, as well as Blood Orange – with Devonte Hynes featuring on the album – and co-producer Jim-E Stack. Visit here for North American tickets and more information, and here for tickets and details for UK and European dates.
In the run-up to the album release and subsequent tour, Lorde has been sharing details about things that may have impacted her sound. These include candid discussions about her gender identity and evolution, her time overcoming eating struggles, and how the upcoming shows may be her “masterpiece”.
