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Hundreds defend Hugh Hefner, attack allegations made in Playboy documentary

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People are still fighting over Playboy and Hugh Hefner, who remains as controversial as when he was alive and lording it over his adult entertainment empire.

On one side there are some former Bunnies and Playmates and Playboy Mansion insiders who have spoken out against what went on there in a new 10-part docuseries.

And there are those who have come out to deny some of the lurid allegations being aired in the Secrets of Playboy series, and defend Hefner.

The former say what he ran was no free-sex free-speech paradise, and was more like a toxic cult where women were treated as commodities with monthly weight checks, while being gaslit into thinking otherwise.

The latter say Hefner, who died in 2017 at the age of 91, was a kind and honest free thinker who treated women with respect.

Those who speak on the A&E documentary include Holly Madison, one of Hefner’s many girlfriends, his valet Stefan Tetenbaum, and Jennifer Saginor, who grew up at the mansion because she was the daughter of his physician.

Madison said sex with Hefner was “mechanical and robotic” and she found it gross that he didn’t want to use protection. She alleged that he asked her to take drugs.

‘He wanted the girls to look identical’

According to Madison, Hefner felt more in control if all the girls looked identical.

She said: “I think it was only like six months in, where I kind of broke under that pressure... My hair was really long naturally. And I was just like, I'm gonna go chop my hair off so I can at least look a little different. I came back with short hair... And he was screaming at me and said it made me look old, hard and cheap."

She claimed she was afraid of leaving because there was this “mountain of revenge porn just waiting to come out”.

His widow Crystal Hefner and others have corroborated some of what Madison said.

Tussle over what’s true

But in an open letter, hundreds of others have disputed these accounts and denounced the docuseries, People and other publications reported.

“From all we know of Hef, he was a person of upstanding character, exceptional kindness, and dedication to free thought," the letter said.

"He demonstrated a commitment to living an honest life beyond everything else. Our time within Hugh Hefner's Playboy and the organization's subsidiaries remains a period all of us are fond of."

A&E defended the series, saying: "The stories shared in Secrets of Playboy are the personal experiences of the documentary's participants and deserve to be told... Signatures on a letter, or a different experience with Mr Hefner or the Playboy culture, do not negate the experiences of those who have come forward to share their truth..."

Some of the signatories of the letter also released personal statements.

Kimberly Hefner, who was married to him for 21 years, till 2010, wrote: “All people should be encouraged to share their individual experience… but no one should be emboldened to re-write the truth at the expense of another person's character."

‘Give it all back or shut the f- - - up’

Renee Baio, who was at the mansion along with Madison, wrote in a Facebook post: "You chose to stay there. You chose to pose nude. You chose to do a reality show. You also chose to write a book…

"If you're so hurt, give back the $1,000 of cash Hef gave you every week for seven years while you lived there. Along with your healthcare, car(s), car insurance, golf cart, weekly hair salon visits, weekly clothing allowance, weekly make up artists, and all the cash on your plastic surgery, room and board with butler service, maid service and high-end dogs. Holly, give it all back (to his kids) or shut the f--- up!"

Joy Jamieson, a former employee of Playboy Enterprises, wrote: "Hef was always the kindest man and treated every Bunny with complete respect. He instilled confidence and gave each guest and us the star treatment. I love him. He changed lives for the better! I will forever be grateful to him."

The current management of Playboy has distanced itself from Hefner, and denounced his "abhorrent actions". It said “we trust and validate women and their stories” and added that more than 80 per cent of its employees are now female.

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