Pamela Anderson may be best known for her red Baywatch bikini, but she swapped her iconic suit for a little black dress for a new public service announcement aimed at exposing the evils of rideshare companies. The new “Ride Responsibly” spot, titled “The Closer,” was posted in advance by TMZ and it features a glammed up Anderson schooling viewers on the misleading hiring practices used by ride-hail apps like Uber and Lyft to lure people to drive for their companies.
The PSA kicks off with a ride-hail driver wannabe walking into an underground garage reminiscent of the one seen in the Batman movie The Dark Knight . Pamela Anderson greets the potential driver to pitch the “gig” to him, telling him he’ll get to meet a lot of people and sit down all day. But then she reveals the kicker.
“You look very strong, and healthy,” Pamela purrs. “So no need for health insurance.”
Anderson also informs the “applicant” that it’s lucky he seems like a five-star guy, because “a four or lower means immediate termination.”
Later in the ad, Pamela informs viewers that ride-hail app services endanger passengers and continue to violate their drivers by “failing to provide a living wage and offering no benefits that are standard for most employees in any other industry.”
Pamela Anderson says she has conducted research with transportation and employment experts who have determined that “the control that ride-hailing services exercise over their drivers defines them as employees” and that these employees deserve to be treated fairly.
You can see Pamela Anderson’s latest “Ride Responsibly” PSA below.
The new public service announcement marks Pamela Anderson’s fourth attempt at curbing ride-hail apps after her own uncomfortable encounter with an Uber driver several years ago. Anderson previously told the Daily Mail that she felt extremely vulnerable when she hitched an Uber ride by herself for the first time.
“I was very uncomfortable even though it was the premier class, which is supposedly the best,” Anderson said. “I was in a long evening gown and could see him staring at me in the mirror and over his shoulder. It was very uncomfortable, very late and a long ride home. It made me think of vulnerable young girls alone late at night after a few drinks.”
@CNN @TMZ @RideResponsibly #Uber https://t.co/8IjNjAsjfv
— Pamela Anderson (@pamelaanderson) May 15, 2018
In 2016, the Baywatch bombshell kicked off her campaign for National Limousine Association’s “Ride Responsibly” initiative with “The Driving game,” a spoof The Dating Game in which male drivers from ride-sharing apps were in a competition to drive her home. The drivers were portrayed as unintelligent men who haven’t had background checks or drug tests.
“Be safe. Think before you app,” Anderson said in the PSA.
While no specific ride-hail app was named in the spot, at the time, Lyft spokesperson Alexandra LaManna told Page S ix that the safety of drivers and passengers is the company’s top concern and that drivers must pass rigorous screenings, driving-record checks, and vehicle inspections. A rep for Uber also confirmed that all drivers undergo background checks before accessing Uber and “any indication otherwise isn’t correct.”
An ad starring Anderson earlier this year tied unvetted ride-hail app drivers to the #MeToo movement when the actress’s “driver” ogled her through the rearview mirror and locked the doors while #MeToo flashed on her phone.
Now, Pam’s PSAs are zeroing in on unfair hiring practices that affect the drivers themselves. Pamela Anderson’s latest PSA will air on major TV networks starting this week.
