Pamela Anderson speaks out after 'hero' Julian Assange's arrest: 'I am in shock'
Pamela Anderson is reacting to her friend Julian Assange’s early morning arrest.
The Baywatch alum, who has had a long-lasting friendship with the fugitive founder of WikiLeaks, took to Twitter soon after he was taken out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to speak out again the “vile injustice.” She also blasted Ecuador, the U.K. and “toxic coward” Donald Trump. According to reports, Assange was arrested on a warrant for the U.K. but also "on behalf" of U.S. law enforcement authorities, who had filed a formal extradition request.
In a series of tweets, Anderson expressed her “shock” over seeing Assange, who published stolen state secrets and embarrassed governments across the globe, led out by police.
She went on to call Assange a “HERO for the people” and vowed that “the people will not allow this vile injustice.”
Anderson added that the bearded and pale Assange, who she said looked “very bad” physically during her arrest, “was right all along. He will be EXTRADITED. It’s confirmed!”
She also urged people to donate to WikiLeaks.
Anderson often visited and brought bags of food to Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he sought refuge for nearly seven years. While they were romantically linked at one time, she blasted those reports as sexism.
“It’s funny how your relationships do get reduced to some kind of sexual relationship,” she told the Daily Beast. “I think the world of Julian, I really do, and I think he’s an important person that needs to be protected, and that bringing any attention to him helps keep him safe.”
Anderson said they became friends after Assange heard she included him in one of her poems. Their first meeting was arranged by their mutual friend, designer Vivienne Westwood. But on the day they were supposed to meet, Anderson and Westwood got their dates mixed up and the former Playboy cover star went to the embassy solo.
“We had this long conversation,” she recalled. “There were a lot of people in the room and then slowly it was just him and I. Then I came a few months later and started bringing him vegan food and made sure he was exercising, because I was worried about his health — his skin was transparent. I learned a lot about him and we have a lot of mutual friends, so it’s nice to keep his spirits up.”
In 2010, Sweden issued an arrest warrant for Assange over an accusation of sexual assault, which he denied. He feared if he turned himself in, he would be extradited to the U.S. for publishing thousands of classified documents via WikiLeaks. While he surrendered to police in the U.K. in 2010, he was released on bail and then sought asylum by Ecuador in 2012. He hadn’t left the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since then — until Thursday’s arrest.
Reports confirmed that Assange’s arrest was "on a warrant issued by Westminster Magistrates' Court” from 2012 “for failing to surrender to the court." He is being held at a central London police station "where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court." He was also placed under arrest "on behalf" of U.S. law enforcement authorities, who had filed a formal extradition request — hence Anderson’s comments about Trump.
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