09 January 2024 , 17:00
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Hugh Hefner built a multimillion-pound global empire symbolised by Playboy Bunnies dressed in bow ties and pink ears - but behind closed doors, the womaniser allegedly drugged, raped and coerced the young women who made him a star.
Hefner, the founder of Playboy, died in 2017 at the age of 91 and left behind a controversial legacy, with some praising him for being a sexual icon while many claim he was an abuser. Hefner's girlfriends, Playmates, friends and employees have spoken out over the years in numerous documentaries, books and interviews, about his dark side.
After Playboy: The Centrefolds That Changed the World aired on Channel 5 last night - showcasing the murky life beyond the Playboy Mansion gates - we take a look at the serious allegations made against Hefner and the reality of working and living with the famous figure, from claims of forced sex, abuse, and strict curfew to sexually transmitted diseases.
Hugh Hefner and his playmates attend the 52th Cannes Film Festival on May 1999 (WireImage)Sexual abuse
Former Bunny Susie Krabacher alleges that Hefner offered her a pill to calm her nerves - which she later realised was Quaalude - and she woke up to him raping her in 1983. "He was naked and my pants were off," she said on Secrets of Playboy in 2022. "I thought that I was having a nightmare... but this old man with his mouth gaping open was a real thing, was a real person. It was Hefner."
Model Audrey Huskey also claims Hefner raped her in 1994 after offering her a joint and pulling his pants down. "I just froze," she said. "I didn't give him permission." Twins Karissa and Kristina Shannon claimed they were forced to perform oral sex on him and Karissa said every time she had sex with Hefner felt 'like rape'. A former Playboy bodyguard, James Ellis, said 'clean-up crews' were employed to cover up alleged rapes and overdoses, while former Bunny Mother PJ Masten claims she saw 50 incidents of sexual abuse 'cleaned up'.
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Beastiality
Playmate of the Month from July 1977, Sondra Theodore, claimed beastiality occurred at the mansion. She said she once caught Hefner performing sexual acts on her dog, and he told her that "dogs have needs". She never left her dog alone with him again. Sondra recalled an incident where a woman was drunk and drugged, seemingly against her will, and made to perform a sex act on a German shepherd while a ring of men "all watched". Stefan Tetenbaum, author of The Dark Secrets of Playboy, also claimed there was "sex with dogs", though Hefner publicly denounced beastiality as being degrading.
Viagra addict
Hefner's wife Crystal Hefner revealed that the bachelor used to take so much Viagra that it eventually made him deaf in one ear. In an interview last year, the 37-year-old said that Hef would rather be hard of hearing than not be able to have sex. "Hef always said he'd rather be deaf and still able to have sex. Weird," she said.
Crystal also admitted that she found the group sex 'embarrassing' and that "nobody really wanted to be there." While she can't remember the exact number of people they'd have in bed at one time, she said it was definitely 'a lot'. She added: "Nobody really wanted to be there but I think in Hef's mind, he still thought he was in his 40s, and those nights, the people, the mansion, solidified that idea. He felt, 'I've still got it'," she revealed.
Hefner's wife Crystal said group sex was 'embarrassing' and said 'nobody really wanted to be there' (Getty Images North America)6pm curfew
As well as deciding her bedroom activities, Crystal said her husband would also control the nail polish she wore and how often she needed to dye her hair. She was also given a 6pm curfew to make sure she would be home to share dinner with Hugh, which was "always chicken soup with cream cheese".
The former couple met when Crystal was 21 and Hugh was 81. They married on New Year's Eve in 2012 and remained together until his death in 2017. Crystal expressed that she finds it difficult to reflect on their time together, describing the beginning of their romance as "so sad". "I look back and I feel sorry for that girl. There was going to be this Wizard Of Oz moment where the fantasy fades, you draw back the curtain and see the reality of it," she told the Daily Mail.
Group sex ritual
All of the women living at the mansion were expected to have sex with Hefner, who had a bizarre nighttime routine, it's claimed. In her book Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny, Holly Madison said girlfriends would change into identical flannel pyjamas beforehand.
Hefner would watch porn, smoke weed, and masturbate while the girlfriends would kiss each other around him, she alleged. Holly said they would take turns pleasuring Hefner, but he always finished by himself. She said: "There was zero intimacy involved. No kissing, nothing. It was so brief that I can't even recall what it felt like beyond having a heavy body on top of mine."
Holly added that Hefner didn't wear protection during the group sex, and twins Karissa and Kristina, who dated Hefner in 2008 and appeared on Girls Next Door, also claimed Hefner didn't use condoms. They said they both caught chlamydia aged 18 at the mansion, where it had been 'going around'.
Kendra Wilkinson said she found the sex so unbearable that she couldn't stay sober for it. Writing in her book Being Kendra: Cribs, Cocktails, and Getting My Sexy Back, she said: "I had to be very drunk or smoke lots of weed to survive those nights – there was no way around it."
Hefner with Kristina Shannon and Karissa Shannon (Getty Images)Humiliation
Hefner would often put the girlfriends down about their appearance, some Playboy Bunnies claimed. Many have said this left them insecure and constantly worrying about how they looked. Recalling one incident, Holly said: "'Don't ever wear red lipstick again,' [Hefner] warned me in a low voice and turned toward the door. He paused and turned back around to survey my reaction. Deciding he hadn't done enough damage, he served me one final blow before storming out of the room: 'You look old, hard and cheap.'"
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Kendra remembered one evening when he put her down because of her weight, saying: "We were all in the limo on the way to a book signing with Hef when he pulled me aside. 'Is everything okay?' he asked. 'I feel fat, Hef,' I told him. 'Everyone is so pretty. It's making me really insecure'. 'Well, you look a little bigger,' he said honestly. 'Maybe you can go to the gym.' When we got home, I went to my room and cried myself to sleep. I was disappointed in myself. I had this whole mansion and a great life to enjoy, and all I was doing was lying around and eating. I felt so lazy and miserable. This was supposed to be paradise, but for me, it wasn't."
Pocket money
The live-in girlfriends each received $1,000 (£750) pocket money from Hefner himself every Friday, some have claimed. When they went to get the money, he apparently used the opportunity to explain to them everything he thought they had been doing wrong. In her book Bunny Tales: Behind Closed Doors at the Playboy Mansion, Izabella St. James described the grim routine.
She wrote: "We had to go to Hef's room, wait while he picked up all the dog poo off the carpet - and then ask for our allowance. We all hated this process. Hef would always use the occasion to bring up anything he wasn't happy about in the relationship." She continued: "Most of the complaints were about the lack of harmony among the girlfriends - or your lack of sexual participation in the 'parties' he held in his bedroom. If we'd been out of town for any reason and missed one of the official 'going out' nights he wouldn't want to give us the allowance. He used it as a weapon."
Strict rules
As well as the curfew and allowance, the live-in girlfriends had to follow a strict set of rules by Hefner if they wanted to stay in the mansion, it has been alleged. If they were photographed outside of the mansion, they had to look perfect and were scolded if they appeared drunk.
They also had to stay silent whenever he was being interviewed at the mansion. Hefner only allowed them to have bleached blonde hair but they could have as much cosmetic surgery as they wanted. They couldn't have their own cars, instead loaning them from Hefner and returning them when they left the mansion.
Hefner's son, Cooper Hefner, defended his father after many of the serious claims were brought to light in the Secrets of Playboy documentary in 2022. He took to Twitter to write: "Some may not approve of the life my dad chose, but my father was not a liar. However unconventional, he was sincere in his approach and lived honestly. He was generous in nature and cared deeply for people. These salacious stories are a case study of regret becoming revenge."
At the same time, Playboy issued a statement noting that the brand is not Hefner's Playboy today. It read: "We trust and validate these women and their stories and we strongly support those individuals who have come forward to share their experience. It is critically important that we listen."