"This is the unsafe that ruined my life!"
By Poppy Burton 29th November 2025
Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson, 1995. CREDIT: Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
A safe famously stolen from Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson that once held their sex tape inside has sold at auction for over $2,000.
- READ MORE: ‘Pam & Tommy’ review: sex tape scandal takes aim at ’90s sleaze
The tape was the centre of controversy in the ’90s when it was stolen and distributed without the consent of Lee or Anderson, who has been vocal about the psychological impact the video has had on her in the years following, and has often recalled it as a traumatic moment in her life.
AdvertisementThe safe that the tape was stolen from recently featured in Julien’s Auctions’ ‘Played, Worn & Torn’ event, with proceeds from items sold going towards charities including MusiCares, Teenage Cancer America, Gibson Gives, and St. Jude’s.
Mötley Crüe drummer Lee got involved, signing the safe and writing: “This is the unsafe that ruined my life!”, a detail that ultimately didn’t help it reach its estimated $4,000-$6,000 fee.
Per Consequence, the winning bidder snagged the piece for $2,560, which didn’t include the price to have the weighty safe shipped home.
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The fallout from the theft was chronicled in Hulu’s Pam & Tommy series, which starred Lily James and Sebastian Stan as the couple. Created once again without the consent of the famous actress, the show centred around their tumultuous relationship and the scandal that erupted after the sex tape was stolen in 1995 and leaked.
RecommendedBack in 2023, Anderson revealed that her ex-husband Lee attempted to comfort her after the series aired.
Speaking to Variety, the actress spoke candidly about her distaste for the program and its producers, describing them as “assholes”. She said their decision to follow through with the show felt like rubbing “salt on the wound,” and it was difficult for her to relive the trauma during the show’s press cycle.
She revealed that Lee had reached out in an attempt to comfort her, saying: “I remember Tommy writing me a note saying, ‘Don’t let this hurt you like it did the first time,’ because he had heard through the kids that I was kind of struggling with the idea of bringing this all up again. I don’t think he was portrayed kindly. I just know that I refuse to watch it.”
It comes after James revealed in January 2022 that she sent Anderson a letter, to which she’d never responded. “I was really hopeful that she would be involved,” James said at the time. “I wish it had been different.”
AdvertisementSpeaking to The New York Times earlier this month, Anderson said that she had received the letter and refused to read it, instead scanning a copy and leaving it in her inbox.
