Lorde receives backlash for referencing Pamela Anderson sex tape on 'Current Affairs'
- - - Lorde receives backlash for referencing Pamela Anderson sex tape on 'Current Affairs'
Edward Segarra, USA TODAY July 2, 2025 at 4:56 AM
Lorde anticipated she would ruffle some feathers with her provocative new album, and her musical forecast was spot-on.
The New Zealand singer-songwriter, born Ella Yelich-O'Connor, has sparked backlash online for the song "Current Affairs," which is featured on her fourth album "Virgin." The 11-track LP, released June 27, marks the alternative pop singer's return to the music scene after 2021's "Solar Power."
The nearly three-and-a-half-minute track is drawing controversy for Lorde's reference to the 1996 sex tape of Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee and actress Pamela Anderson: "All alone in my room / Watching the tape of their honeymoon / On the boat, it was pure and true / Then the film came out."
The Grammy-winning songstress, 28, opened up about her experience of watching the intimate video in a May interview with Rolling Stone, revealing she watched the tape following a psychedelic therapy session.
"I found it to be so beautiful," Lorde told the outlet, though she acknowledged the possible inappropriateness of watching. "I saw two people that were so in love with each other, and there was this purity. They were jumping off this big boat. ... They were like children. They were so free. And I just was like, 'Whoa. Being this free comes with danger.'"
Anderson and Lee's sex tape, which was stored inside a safe, was stolen by disgruntled electrician Rand Gauthier from the couple's Malibu home. Anderson previously said she and Lee were offered $5 million for the video from Penthouse founder Bob Guccione, and after the pair declined the offer, the tape was released publicly.
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Anderson, Lee and Lorde for comment.
Lorde stirs controversy on 'Virgin': Singer's racy vinyl artwork divides fans with NSFW image
Lorde slammed for 'ignorant' Pamela Anderson lyric
Lorde's bold lyric about Anderson and Lee's sex tape scandal earned criticism from fans, who claimed the pop culture reference was in bad taste.
"It wasn't enough to mention watching the illegal revenge porn tape in this interview," X user @dreamsandprose wrote, referencing the singer's Rolling Stone profile. "Lorde had to go and add it as the lyrics to current affairs as well."
One Reddit user said the lyric "almost ruins the entire album for me," adding: "It's so deeply narcissistic and ignorant for Lorde to try and relate a deeply traumatic event in Pamela's life to her own experience."
Lorde performs on the Woodsies stage during Day 3 of the 2025 Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton, in Glastonbury, England, on June 27, 2025.
But some listeners offered a softer stance on the Anderson-Lee shout-out. Another Reddit user argued that the lyric acknowledges the sex tape's unauthorized release was "a violation of their lives and tainted their love."
"Sometimes people do wrong things. Instead of dismissing them as you do, we should consider their intentions and critique them within reason," the user continued. "The line does work even if it's a very wrong thing to say, but that's the price of unfiltered expression."
Lorde touts 'MDMA therapy': What is it?
What has Pamela Anderson said about sex tape scandal?
Anderson opened up about the emotional impact her stolen sex tape had on her life in her 2023 Netflix documentary "Pamela, a Love Story" and memoir "Love, Pamela." While discussing the release of Hulu's limited series "Pam & Tommy," a biopic dramatization of Anderson and Lee's tape scandal, the "Baywatch" alum remained adamant that she did not want to revisit the dark chapter in her life.
"I blocked that out of my life," Anderson said in the film. "It was a survival mechanism, and now that it's all coming up again, I feel sick. Basically, you are just a thing owned by the world, like you belong to the world."
In a January interview with USA TODAY, Anderson further reflected on the series and shared that she had no interest in addressing the sex tape in a film or TV series portrayal of her own. "I was pretty shocked that people could do something about you without your knowledge or blessing," she said.
"The last few decades were very dark for me. I wrote a lot of poetry and did a lot of writing, but I wasn't happy. I was confused and trying to figure out what I was supposed to be doing," Anderson continued. "Somehow it all worked out, but that's not something I like to relive. It happened, and I'm stronger for it now, I guess."
Lorde stirs controversy with racy 'Virgin' vinyl artwork
Lorde's "Current Affairs" lyric isn't the only controversy from her latest album, "Virgin."
The sexually provocative artwork for the album's vinyl edition drew scrutiny from fans on social media. One of the images from the artwork reportedly includes a nude shot of Lorde, with the photo showing the crotch of an individual wearing see-through pants.
A representative for Lorde confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the singer is the individual featured in the photo. USA TODAY reached out to Lorde's representatives for comment.
10 bingeable memoirs to check out: Celebrities tell all about aging, marriage and Beyoncé
In her Rolling Stone interview, Lorde reflected on the "vulnerable" and "messy" nature of "Virgin" and the impact the album could have on her public image.
"There's going to be a lot of people who don't think I'm a good girl anymore, a good woman. It's over," Lorde told the outlet. "It will be over for a lot of people, and then for some people, I will have arrived. I'll be where they always hoped I'd be."
Contributing: Erin Jensen and Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lorde receives backlash for Pamela Anderson reference on new album
Source: AOL Entertainment
