Pam from The Office is one of the most beloved TV characters of all time. However, actress Jenna Fischer says that while the iconic show was airing, her on-screen alter ego actually received a lot of unfair criticism from viewers. During Fischer’s Office Ladies podcast with Angela Kinsey, she opened up about specific episodes that had fans complaining about Pam’s behavior.
Fischer remembered a Season 5 episode where Pam moved to New York for school, and made some new friends. “I just want to say that when Pam went to art school for only three months when she was not yet married and didn’t have children, people came down real hard on her because of Jim’s feelings,” the actress stated. “People were not happy with Pam when this episode aired, I remember,” Kinsey added.
Pam From The Office Was Treated Unfairly By Fans
Several years later during The Office Season 9, Jenna Fischer says that Pam took heat from viewers yet again. “Then, when Jim invested in a business without telling Pam, and left his family, and left Pam alone to care for their two children while he chased his dreams, people came down on Pam again for not being supportive enough of Jim,” she said. “So in both of these instances, I just want to say I noticed a lot of hate for Pam. Do I want to call it sexist? I do.,” she continued. “Pam faced a lot of scrutiny as a character I think because she was a woman, right?” she added. Recently it was reported that The Office may be getting a remake with a gender-bending twist, which could help to fix the original show’s problematic portrayal of its female characters.
Over the years, the character of Pam from The Office has become one that fans of the show truly do love and admire. Meanwhile, rewatching the show in the present day does hit differently knowing that viewers were so critical of Pam while the series was airing. It also proves that a potential Office reboot would need to do better.
Jim and Pam’s Office romance may have clouded viewers’ judgment
The relationship between Jim and Pam may have clouded some viewers’ judgment and given them a distorted sense of reality. The show touched on that a bit in the series finale, when the gang appeared at a question and answer session for their documentary and Pam was asked how she repaid Jim for leaving his dream job and sharing an old love letter that he had written her. However, Jim chimed in to state that Pam didn’t need to repay him for being her partner in life and putting their relationship and family first.
While Pam from The Office is now looked at as an iconic character from an equally iconic TV show, Jenna Fischer isn’t afraid to speak up in defense of her former alter-ego and how she was treated at the time.
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