In 1953, Hugh Hefner created Playboy magazine, building a multi-media brand and launching
a debate about the media's treatment of women that still rages today.
Hefner turned it into a brand, with himself as its unofficial mascot.
Along the way he broke down some barriers, but he also crossed a lot of lines.
Here's a look at just some of the disturbing things everyone just ignores about Hugh Hefner.
Violation of consent
Playboy launched to major fanfare thanks to the fact that the first issue featured
photos of legendary blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe.
One problem: the photos were published without her consent.
Unable to find work and desperate for money, Monroe had actually been paid just $50 to
pose in the buff way back in 1949 for a calendar.
Ashamed, she did the shoot under a fake name and begged the photographer never to reveal
it was her.
Once she became famous, though, Hefner bought the rights to the photos for $500 and used
them to launch his empire - all without ever even meeting Marilyn.
"Do you feel like you missed out by not being able to have her here in your home?"
"Oh, yes.
Absolutely, yes."
Hefner would go on to use this same tactic again and again over the decades.
In 1985, for instance, he published photos of Madonna from 1979 when she posed as an
artist's model.
And in 1987, it was Vanna White whose old modeling photos were exploited, despite the
fact that White and Hefner were friends at the time.
"He was my friend, he said we're going to put you on the cover."
"I said, Hef, if you put me on the cover, my career could be ruined, you know?
And they did it anyway."
Some friend!
He tried to bribe Holly Madison
For eight years, Holly Madison was one of Hefner's "girlfriends," but in 2008 she decided
to ditch her bunny ears and left Hef.
In 2015, she released a tell-all memoir titled Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and
Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny.
In the best-seller, she claimed Hefner attempted to bribe her to remain at the Playboy Mansion
by intentionally leaving his will out for her to see.
According to Madison, Hefner planned to bequeath her $3 million if she stayed.
"It just…
It just… it grossed me out.
Blech."
The allowance ritual
Madison was one of the stars of the hit reality series The Girls Next Door, but like the rest
of the girls, she wasn't paid for that work.
Instead, Hefner compensated his "girlfriends" by paying them $1,000 a week to live with
him in the Playboy Mansion and giving them all the free plastic surgery they wanted.
And the allowance ritual was especially degrading.
According to former Playmate Izabella St. James, who wrote Bunny Tales: Behind Closed
Doors at the Playboy Mansion, Hefner would have the girls line up in his bedroom every
Friday and essentially beg for the money while he publicly reviewed their performance .
St. James wrote, "Most of the complaints were about the lack of harmony among the girlfriends—or
your lack of 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."
He buddied up with Bill Cosby
In May, 2016, TMZ reported that a woman who accused Bill Cosby of assaulting
her at the Playboy Mansion in 2008 had added Hefner to the lawsuit, claiming the Playboy
kingpin knew about Cosby's alleged predatory behavior but did nothing to protect her.
According to the victim, it was Hefner who introduced her to Cosby.
The suit alleges Hefner had a habit of inviting "...young and impressionable and possibly
minor children to his residence and providing alcoholic beverages."
And she's not the only one coming forward with allegations that Hefner was complicit
in Cosby's crimes: In June, 2017, Page Six reported that Cosby was being brought to trial
for allegedly touching a 15-year-old girl at the Playboy Mansion in 1974.
What's not in doubt is the fact that Cosby was a frequent flyer at the mansion for decades
and a close friend of Hefner's, a relationship the two played up for laughs.
"I wish you had a present for me."
"Well, I do.
You're gonna be really surprised."
"Party, party!"
"Hef told me I was with you.
Get it?"
Hefner issued a statement in 2014 that seems to simultaneously support and oppose the comedian.
"Bill Cosby has been a good friend for many years and the mere thought of these allegations
is truly saddening.
I would never tolerate this kind of behavior, regardless of who was involved."
Whether or not he's telling the truth is something the courts will decide.
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