Tommy Lee is looking back on an unexpected chapter of his pre-fame life, revealing that he worked as a male escort before Motley Crue became one of rock’s most notorious bands.
The 63-year-old drummer, who was previously married to Pamela Anderson, spoke candidly about the experience during an appearance on Dax Shepard’s podcast Armchair Expert, describing how he was paid to accompany older women on dates when he was still trying to make it in music.
Lee said the unusual side job began after he and his bandmates moved into an apartment together and crossed paths with a woman he described as a “madame,” who introduced them to the arrangement.
The musician, whose band formed in 1981, explained that the outings varied widely, with some clients simply wanting company over dinner while other encounters became sexual.
“Sometimes [I would] go and just sit and have dinner with them,” he recalled, emphasizing that certain dates were exactly that — dinner and conversation. Lee added that he considered himself fortunate because some of the older women he met were genuinely enjoyable to spend time with.
For Lee, the money made a major difference: he said he was paid $500, a dramatic jump from the $20 a week he and his Motley Crue bandmates were reportedly receiving from their manager at the time.
Tommy Lee has reflected on working as an escort in the years before Motley Crue rose to fame
Lee said his dates with older women could involve anything from dinner companionship to sex; pictured in 1997
Lee, who shares sons Brandon, 30, and Dylan, 28, with 59-year-old Anderson, said he went on ‘nine or 10’ dates as an escort.
This isn’t the first time the star has been candid about his former profession.
He also opened up about it in August 2024 while on Theo Von’s self-titled podcast, sharing with listeners that he escorted for ‘about a year or so.’
‘If the lady was, like, an older lady where you’re like, “I hope this is just dinner,” you’re stoked. I’m just gonna have dinner and drinks and entertain her and that’s it, then you’d get stoked when that would happen,’ he recounted.
‘But sometimes, they wanted more, and you’re like, “Oh man.” That part is not fun, because f***ing when you’re not into it is a weird thing.’
After his career took off as the drummer in Motley Crue, Lee tied the knot with Anderson following their chance meeting in 1994.
Their tumultuous on-off relationship ended for a final time in 2009.
Lee has been married to his fourth wife, 39-year-old comedian Brittany Furlan, since 2019.
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In return, the rock star earned $500 – a steep improvement from the $20/week he and his bandmates received from their manager at the time; L-R Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, Vince Neil, and Tommy Lee pictured in 1987
The 63-year-old musician appeared on the latest episode of Dax Shepard’s podcast Armchair Expert, and opened up about the unconventional job
After reaching fame and fortune, Lee married now-ex-wife is Pamela Anderson, pictured left in 2007. He’s now married to Brittany Furlan (R)
Anderson unpacked the details of her relationship with Lee in her 2023 memoir Love, Pamela.
She told the Wall Street Journal at the time: ‘I’m sure it’s going to be annoying to his wife. I’d be annoyed.’
The former pinup divulged in the book that her ‘relationship with Tommy may have been the only time I was ever truly in love’ and declared that she ultimately left him because she ‘had to protect my babies.’
Anderson accused Lee of physically attacking her while she was holding their son Dylan when he was an infant.
Lee served four months of a six-month sentence after pleading no contest to felony spousal battery.
Also in 2023, the blonde bombshell revealed in an interview with Howard Stern that her contact with her ex-husband consisted of ‘just a text here and there.’
