They smooch like lovers. They cuddle like lovers. They even canoodle like lovers. But are Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson really, truly in a romantic relationship? Not everyone is convinced.
“This is really starting to seem like PR,” one disbeliever posted on a recent Reddit thread devoted to debating the authenticity of the Neeson-Anderson affair (until it somehow digressed into a discussion about whether Anderson was a Zionist).
To be sure, the skeptics have reason to be doubtful: Hollywood has a long history of manufactured fauxmances, going back to the days when Rock Hudson and Doris Day were a hot item. More recently — in fact, just two years ago — Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney (pre-American Eagle infamy) pulled a fast one while promoting Anyone But You. Both later acknowledged that they had leaned into rumors of an offscreen romance to keep social media buzzing during their media tour. Ditto Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, whose A Star Is Born duet at the 2018 Oscars sparked dating rumors. “We mapped the whole thing out,” Gaga admitted. “It was orchestrated.”
There are others: Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart’s liaison during their Twilight years was said to have been “studio managed.” And, of course, who could forget Vaughniston? The torrid romance between Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston lasted almost exactly the length of The Break-Up‘s 2006 promotional window.
That said, there are reasons to believe in Neeserson. Both Naked Gun co-stars have been single for a while. The last time Neeson, 73, was known to have a girlfriend was a few years after the 2009 death of his wife, Natasha Richardson, when he dated PR exec Freya St. Johnston until about 2012. Meanwhile, Anderson, 58, hasn’t been noticeably active on the dating scene since her 2022 divorce from bodyguard Dan Hayhurst. Then there’s the chorus of “insiders” who keep insisting in the tabloids that the couple really are “madly in love,” which proves nothing but at least sounds sincere.
Still, there is one piece of evidence that actually is pretty convincing. It’s on Instagram, where Joely Richardson — Natasha’s sister, still close to Neeson — recently gave three red hearts to one of Anderson’s posts. The one that said, “Love is in the air.”
The Prince, the Perv and a Publishing Payday
All this renewed interest in Jeffrey Epstein has been a boon to at least one group of people — authors of books about Jeffrey Epstein.
When it hit shelves in 2021, Julie K. Brown’s Perversion of Justice was the sort of mid-list debut publishers charitably call “steady.” Today, it’s sold out at bookstores nationwide (“If you’re having trouble getting my book, I’m told the publisher is printing more copies,” Brown recently posted on X). The book’s been in development at HBO for years — with Adam McKay attached to produce — but the current surge could finally nudge an adaptation in the not-too-distant future.
Meanwhile, Filthy Rich, James Patterson’s 2016 true-crime exposé that was published three years before Epstein died in prison, is catching fresh buzz, too. Last month, viewership of the 2020 Netflix docuseries based on the book jumped 430 percent, a spike that often propels source material back up the charts. And then there’s Andrew Lownie’s Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York — promising eye-popping (or maybe stomach-turning) revelations about Prince Andrew’s ties to Epstein — that arrives Aug. 14. You don’t have to go too far out on a limb to predict healthy sales for that one as well.
No surprise this uptick in Epstein awareness has publishers hungry for more. “An investigative reporter who breaks new ground will have a runaway best-seller,” says top D.C. agent Keith Urbahn before quickly managing expectations. “But revealing a conspiracy is usually easier said than done, especially in book form.” — Andy Lewis
This story appeared in the Aug. 13 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
