Pamela Anderson says that Hugh Hefner was the only man who ever treated her with respect

Pamela Anderson detailed her harrowing life story to The Times in a new interview published on Saturday.

The iconic bombshell, 55 – who recently revealed that Vladimir Putin once ‘got a kick out of her’ at the Kremlin – told the publication that she ‘wanted to be a Librarian’ and that the only man who ever treated her with respect was Hugh Hefner. 

Anderson has graced the cover of Playboy a record 14 times, but since his death in 2017 at the age of 91, Hefner’s legacy has been scarred by controversy and multiple allegations of abuse.

Anderson has been a whirlwind press tour to promote her new memoir, Love, Pamela, and the companion documentary from Netflix called Pamela, a love story. 

Opening up to journalist Decca Aitkenhead in her hometown of Ladysmith, Wisconsin, the world-famous pinup said: ‘I wanted to be a librarian. But I just went in a different direction.’

From there, Anderson’s horrendous childhood is laid out in systematic fashion. 

Filled with multiple accounts of molestation and rape, the Baywatch star’s traumatic upbringing was plagued by poverty and abuse. 

Describing her nightmarish parents as ‘hot trouble, the local Bonnie and Clyde,’ Pamela explained that her desire to leave home for the Playboy Mansion came from her being ‘painfully shy.’

‘I was painfully shy and I hated that feeling,’ she said. ‘That’s why I did it. I just didn’t want that feeling any more.’

Describing the positive effects of her first pictorial, the Baywatch star said: ‘Doing that first photoshoot gave me this little kind of portal on what it felt like to be a sensual woman. My sexuality was mine. I took my power back.’

From there, Pamela dove into discussing her tumultuous love life, recounting five hellish marriages. 

Her infamous relationship with Tommy Lee was followed by short-lived romances with Kid Rock, poker player Rick Solomon, film producer Jon Peters – who plants to leave her $10 million – and her contractor in Ladysmith, Dan Hayhurst. 

She said that her two-year marriage to Hayhurst was ‘worse than any of [her previous marriages]’ and claimed that she eventually had to pay him off to go away, despite having a prenup. 

And through all the high and lows, keeping money has been difficult. 

‘I never made any,’ she said. ‘I was always getting sued for everything I had. I’ve been sued all my life.’

The Home Improvement star – who recently accused Tim Allen of flashing her – said that she worked her way out of debt by doing reality TV.

‘They were awful,’ she said of the shows. ‘Awful. I hated it, because I knew I had so much more to give.’

But Pamela appears to be on firm financial ground since writing her memoir and filming her documentary.

She described herself as being ‘set up for life,’ but the revealing projects have strained the relationship with her mother – who lives on her property in Ladysmith.

‘She said some horrible things,’ Pamela said of her mother. ‘So it’s going to be very difficult for her to have that out there.’ 

The interview ended with Aitkenhead asking Anderson ‘if anyone has ever treated her with complete and utter respect.’ 

After giving the question some thought, Pamela’s answer was simple: ‘Hugh Hefner.’