Former Baywatch bombshell Pamela Anderson spent Valentine’s Day in France this year, where she gave audiences in Paris a whole lot to love.Anderson performed twice last week in various states of undress before sellout crowds of 500 enthusiastic viewers, each paying the equivalent $300 for the privilege– at the legendary Paris burlesque club Le Crazy Horse. Anderson delivered the highlight of her appearance in a sheer black body on the back of a Harley Davidson motorcycle.
The sensual dance number was a homage to the 1950’s hit “Harley Davidson” made famous by 50’s bombshell of France Brigitte Bardot. The 73-year old French actress, also famous in France for her animal activism—another interest she shares with Pamela Anderson, sent Anderson flowers from St. Tropez and wished her luck in her Paris debut.
Anderson has followed in the steps of French actress Bardot in using her stardom to campaign for the protection of animals. Anderson, a native of Canada, was in France to meet with Bardot during Anderson’s campaign for the protection of baby seals.
40-year old American actress and pin-up Anderson explained that she was to deliver a letter written by Bardot to the Canadian ambassador to France, in an attempt to curb seal hunting around the Pacific. “It sickens me not just as a Canadian but as a human being,” Anderson said. Anderson and other animal rights activists claim that hunting for baby seals, outlawed for 20 years, has been reinstated recently because new markets for fur have opened up in Russia and China. She found time while in France to protest before the Canadian Embassy in Paris against seal hunting with fellow activists from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Anderson has been urging designers and consumers to boycott pelts and seal products.
Anderson’s show at the Crazy Horse saloon in Paris was about other urges entirely. Although Le Crazy Horse is known for its topless and nude numbers featuring strategically placed feathers, Anderson asserted that her Paris performance was “a celebration of women. It’s done very respectfully, very classy, and it’s a wonderful show for women as well as for men.”
While Americans may find this statement hard to swallow, it is true that France and especially Paris has had a rather different cultural relationship with female nudity throughout its history. The French make a distinction between the more raunchy burlesque houses of Pigalle and the famous, expensive upscale clubs featuring shows with nude women such as the Crazy Horse, the Lido and others, most of which are of longstanding in Paris and are indeed frequented by both sexes. Some other American actresses have even been made famous for disrobing in the capital of France, notably Josephine Baker.
Recently, under new management, the Crazy Horse of Paris, which opened in 1951, has started a policy to recapture the glory days by featuring famous or prestigious artists stripping for a limited number of shows, such as Dita Von Teese, Arielle Dombasle and Pamela Anderson. The club occupies a venerable old building on the Avenue George V one of the toniest streets of Paris’ chic 8th arrondissement, just steps away from Hermes, five-star hotels, expensive restaurants and various foreign embassies.
One observer described Anderson’s number: “She was great. She was totally into it – it was impressive. And the crowd responded very warmly.” Reports say that though tickets for Anderson’s Paris show were around $300 apiece, the actress was not paid for her appearance. “This isn’t for money,” said Anderson. “It’s just for the love of the art, and the Crazy Horse does it best.” No word as to whether the Crazy Horse plans on donating any of its Valentine’s haul to PETA.
news source : http://www.webinfrance.com/
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