extract from the Baywatch star’s memoir
My friendship with Julian Assange has been invigorating, sexy, and funny. Though his circumstances are not funny at all. Ten years incarcerated, in one way or another. We were first introduced through Vivienne Westwood. I visited Julian regularly at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, staying for hours at a time. He looked forward to the vegan meals I’d bring him, and he was intrigued by my perspective on global issues. Most of his visitors were lawyers, politicians and people he worked with closely on legal matters. My presence was different, maybe, a little refreshing, human. Somewhat stimulating for him. I brought with me another world, one that wasn’t so heavy.
Through our colourful conversations, Julian taught me so much about the world. He reminded me a lot of my grandpa in that way. Julian would draw diagrams about any topic and loved to solve problems, no matter how small or how large.
One night, Julian and I shared a strong bottle of mescal. We passed out, and I woke up at four in the morning with his cat on my chest. We’d both fallen asleep following a slightly frisky, fun, alcohol-induced night together. My car was still waiting outside, and I’m sure that sent some tongues wagging. We joked about getting hitched on the front steps of the embassy – maybe then they wouldn’t arrest him? But then again, he joked, why would he give up one prison for another? His sense of humour – funny in an uncanny way and so alarmingly smart – made me think of some friends and family with similar quirks of brilliance and social awkwardness. They didn’t know what to do with their unique minds.
A longtime human rights campaigner, Anderson was vocal in her support of the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
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By his request, I was the first person to visit Julian at Belmarsh, the supermax prison. It was a shocking experience – the five checkpoints, the shouting and screaming while we crossed through the yard. We had gone in a different, more secure way, so as not to be exposed to the general population. That was the prison’s call, the safest way, they said, for me and for the inmates. It was the most frightening place I’ve ever visited. Julian is a mild-mannered person, not a physical threat to anyone, and he is being broken down, psychologically tortured.
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