Last month Hulu released its final episode of the television
series Pam & Tommy. The biographical miniseries
follows the lives of newlyweds Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee during
the time that their sex tape was stolen and made available over the
internet. The series is based on a 2014 Rolling Stone article that
tells the story of the man who stole and distributed the
tape. 1 However, just like the sex tape, the
show was released without the consent of the titled stars.
Pamela Anderson has reportedly said that she will "never
ever" watch the television show and has since teased an
upcoming Netflix documentary in which she will tell the truth about
her story. So if Pamela and Tommy are so against the Pam
& Tommy docudrama, how was it released in the first
place? This show raises important questions about when you may
portray someone's life story and when you should obtain life
story rights. In short, while life story rights are not technically
necessary, producing a