With arguably one of the most recognizable faces in the world, it is hard to imagine Pamela Anderson being identified as anyone but herself.
But it happened … and it jeopardized her safety.
While speaking to Josh Horowitz for his podcast, “Happy Sad Confused,” to promote her critically acclaimed film, “The Last Showgirl,” Anderson was asked a series of random questions, including whether she had ever been mistaken for another actor.
SOME TEXAS STATIONS STOP PLAYING DIXIE CHICKS SONGS AFTER BUSH REMARKS
Anderson was quick to respond. “This one time, I was on a flight and this guy came up to me and said, ‘Do you know what this country’s done for you?’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God, what have I done?’”
Anderson explained that throughout the flight, the disgruntled passenger continued to cause problems, so much so that a flight attendant got involved. “This stewardess had to handcuff him to the chair because he was trying to attack me,” she continued.
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“He thought I was a Dixie Chick,” she shared, much to the amusement of the live audience. “Remember that whole Dixie Chick thing?” she said, referencing the controversial comments made by lead singer Natalie Maines in 2003 about then-President George W. Bush. “Yeah, I almost got killed on a plane.”
In 2003, the band, now known solely as The Chicks, was performing the first show of their “Top of the World Tour” in London, 11 days before the United States would invade Iraq.
Ahead of playing their song “Traveling Soldier,” Maines commented on the state of America. “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas,” she told the crowd.
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Backlash was instantaneous, with the country groups’ music being pulled from music stations across the country. Days later, Maines would apologize, although in an interview a month later, she would stand by her comments. Bush would later say that the women were “free to speak their mind,” and the comments had not rattled him.
Compared to all the other climactic events in her life, Anderson joked that this was a “minor” incident, although it did have some impact. “I was scared to fly after that for a little bit,” she admitted. Anderson never disclosed which singer she was mistaken for, although lead singer Maines and founding member Martie Maguire both have blonde locks like Anderson.
