08 January 2024 , 19:45
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Hugh Hefner's glamorous Playboy empire was the epitome of glitz and glamour for over half a century - but there was a much darker side to the lifestyle behind closed doors.
While the Playboy Bunnies appeared to be living the high life - staying inside the Playboy Mansion, dressing in pink satin corsets and making use of Hefner's millions - the reality was far from sexy. Over the years, some of Hefner's girlfriends have made serious allegations against him, including coercion, abuse and sexual assault.
A documentary exploring the sinister side of the magazine, titled Playboy: The Centrefolds That Changed the World, airs on Channel 5 tonight and features an insight into the womaniser's world. Here, we take a look at the murky life beyond the gates, from kidney infections to monthly weigh-ins and strict rules.
The Bunnies were weighed every monthly and suspended if they were heavier, it's claimed (Rex)Monthly weigh-ins
The infamous Playboy corset helped to create the illusion of an hourglass body shape, but it wasn't the comfiest for Bunnies. Ex-Bunny Suzanne Charneski, who worked in the Great Gorge Playboy Club, said the corset had 18 metal stays and required two people to put it on, with one holding the front and another zipping the back.
Speaking on the Secrets of Playboy documentary, she said: "You had a complete check before you went into service mode, before you went on the floor. You were checked for your costume, the way it looked, the way it fit, and your weight." She added: "If you gained 5lbs, with those metal stays, you couldn't breathe."
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She explained all Bunnies were required to do monthly weigh-ins. "There was a chart in the room next to the scale and it was humiliating. Everybody could see it and if you were 5lbs over, you had a warning," she said. "If you didn't get it down for next month, you were suspended until you got your weight down."
PJ Masten, dubbed 'Bunny Mother', explained a lot of girls had kidney infections because they were cinched in. She also said Bunnies were required to wear high heels whenever they were on the floor. "We used to go into the ladies' room and take our shoes off, which were encrusted with blood and stick them in the toilet bowl and keep flushing it," she explained. "It was like a whirlpool, to get the swelling down and hope that your shoes could fit back in."
She also shared the 'rule book' that came with hiring new Bunnies. "We had to evaluate them on their appearance and you can't have these - crepe-y skin, sagging breasts, bags under their eyes, crooked teeth, some really nasty descriptions," she said. "It was heartbreaking to me and I just I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. I rebelled against. I didn't check off if they had crepe-y sin, or if they had saggy breasts, you couldn't tell anyhow, I don't want to fire somebody for image - that stays with you for the rest of your life, that's a terrible thing."
Drunken sex
All of the women living at the Playboy 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, who died in 2017, would watch porn, smoke weed, and masturbate while the girlfriends would kiss each other around him, she alleged. Holly says 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."
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 would put some of the Bunnies down about their appearance and described one as 'cheap' (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.'"
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."
Beg for 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."
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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."
Locked in
While the Playboy Bunnies could enjoy nights on the town at Hefner's expense, the live-in girlfriends didn't have much freedom, it has been claimed. Holly said: "Everyone thinks that the infamous metal gate was meant to keep people out. But I grew to feel it was meant to lock me in."
While Kendra said she had to be at home every night by 9pm, which made her feel trapped. She said: "Nights were hard because while my Playmate friends got to go out and party, I would have to be home by 9 p.m. I'd get a text message from a girl that read, 'Having so much fun in Vegas. Wish you were here! Partying with all these football players'’ and that was devastating. I felt so trapped and angry when I was missing out on something good."
Some of the live-in girlfriends felt trapped inside the Playboy Mansion and didn't have much freedomDirty mansion
With its 22 bedrooms, swimming pools and gates to keep out intruders, the Playboy Mansion looked like the height of luxury and celebrity extravagance. But inside, things were a whole different story. Former girlfriends have revealed there was dog poo everywhere and porn strewn across every room.
Melissa Howe also described 'dirty' carpets in the mansion and the poor state of the girls' rooms in her book. She said: "Although we all did our best to decorate our rooms and make them homey, the mattresses on our beds were disgusting - old, worn and stained. The sheets were past their best too."
Strict rules
As well as the curfew and allowance, the live-in girlfriends had to follow a strict set of rules 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.
Jealousy
While Kendra, Holly and other girlfriend Bridget Marquardt appeared to get on well during filming for Girls Next Door, the reality was a different story. Kendra said: "During that first season, Bridget, Holly, and I continued to keep our distance, except when we were filming. We did our thing off-camera, and there was an unspoken competition for camera time when the cameras were around. Each of us wanted the others to look good and be successful, but whether they will admit it or not, I think we each wanted the spotlight and to look the best in every episode."
Holly said there was a lot of jealousy, especially when she got the coveted position of number one girlfriend. She explained: "Suddenly, Playmates who had once mocked me were kissing my ass, bringing me gifts and showering me with compliments now that I was Hef's number one girlfriend. The sudden shift in the way some of those girls acted was completely obvious and shameless, but I suppose they thought I was too dumb to notice or that I would be so grateful to be treated kindly for a change that I wouldn't object."
- Playboy: The Centrefolds That Changed the World airs on repeat on Channel 5 at 9pm tonight.