She Was Mistaken By The Chicks, ‘Almost Got Killed’

Sometimes even someone like Pamela Anderson – who is bravely herself in every facet – gets a case of mistaken identity.

During an interview with Happy Sad Confused podcast to discuss her starring role in Gia Coppola’s The Last ShowgirlAnderson was asked if anyone has ever mistaken her for another celebrity. In response, the actress offered the most unexpected anecdote.

“This one time I was on a plane and this guy came up to me and said, ‘Do you know what this country has done for you?'” Anderson recalled. “And I was like, ‘Oh, my God. What have I done?’ I was like, oh God. I looked back and he was (angry). Then this flight attendant had to handcuff him to the chair because he tried to attack me.”

She explained: “He ended up thinking I was a Dixie Chick. Remember that whole Dixie Chick thing?” Anderson added: “I was almost killed in a plane. I was afraid to fly after that, a little bit.”

Although Anderson did not specify when the incident occurred, it was likely shortly after the Chicks’ criticism of former President George W. Bush after he declared war on Iraq in March 2003. At the time, the then-Dixie Chicks were performing in London when lead singer Natalie Maines said on stage that they were “ashamed” that Bush was also from Texas. The backlash was swift and brutal, and the trio was blacklisted from country radio stations across the US. As the country music community shunned the group, their album and tour sales were decimated.

Although Maines issued an apology, she later said Time Magazine while promoting their album Not ready to make nice in 2006 that she no longer felt the same. “I apologized for disrespecting the office of the president,” she said. “But I don’t feel like that anymore. I don’t feel he owes anyone any respect.”

In 2020, the group dropped “Dixie” from its name amid worldwide protests following the death of George Floyd and in an apparent move to distance itself from a term associated with the Confederate era.