Secrets of Celebrity S*x Tapes revisits Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s stolen tape and the money behind it

Secrets of Celebrity S*x Tapes premiered on A&E on September 8, 2025, bringing renewed attention to one of the most infamous scandals of the 1990s.

In an E! News exclusive published the same day, the docuseries revealed new details about Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s stolen tape and the surprising financial outcome that followed.

The series looks back at the 1997 controversy, when private footage recorded during their 1995 honeymoon was taken from their Los Angeles home and later distributed online by the now-defunct Internet Entertainment Group (IEG).

While the tape became one of the earliest viral moments of the internet age, the question of whether Anderson and Lee personally benefited financially has continued for decades.

As the show highlights, the couple never received direct profits from sales, despite the widespread circulation of the footage. Instead, they faced years of scrutiny, legal battles, and personal strain.

With commentary from Nicole Eggert, Traci Bingham, and others, the series, Secrets of Celebrity S*x Tapes,  provides a wider context on how scandals of this kind have shaped public perceptions and celebrity culture.

Secrets of Celebrity S*x Tapes:  Legal battles and financial realities from the 1997 scandal

The docuseries, Secrets of Celebrity S*x Tapes, emphasizes that Anderson and Lee did not profit from the tape.

“I know firsthand that Pam and Tommy made not one dime off that video,” Cort St. George says in the series.

He explains that they turned down money, refusing to legitimize the theft of their private footage. The couple did, however, pursue legal action.

After filing a lawsuit, they won their case on appeal in 2002, with a default judgment awarding them $740,000 each.

Entertainment Weekly reported that IEG, the company selling the video, did not appear in court to defend itself.

In past interviews, Anderson has also reinforced this point. Speaking on Watch What Happens Live in 2015, she said,

“I made not one dollar. It’s stolen property… neither of us made anything from it.”

For Anderson, the violation was less about financial loss and more about the invasion of privacy.

As the docuseries notes, the circulation of the footage set a precedent for how stolen content could be monetized, often at the expense of those most affected.

Personal impact on Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s relationship

Beyond legal outcomes, the personal consequences of the tape were significant. Anderson told CBS News in 2023,

“We were naked all the time and filming each other and being silly. But those tapes were not meant for anybody else to see.”

She added that she has never watched the footage herself. In her memoir Love, Pamela, she described how the exploitation of the tape was “very hurtful” and contributed to the breakdown of her marriage to Lee.

“It ruined lives,” she wrote, “starting with our relationship.”

The series explores how the incident not only changed their private lives but also altered how the public viewed them as a couple.

Their divorce in 1998 was followed by years of individual careers shaped by the scandal’s shadow.

While Anderson went on to reflect publicly on the theft and its aftermath, Lee also faced the long-term implications of the controversy.

With commentary from fellow celebrities and cultural observers,

Secrets of Celebrity S*x Tapes positions their story as a defining example of how personal recordings, once exposed, could permanently affect reputations and relationships in the celebrity world.

Stay tuned for more updates.