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Former Playboy Playmates who’ve accused Hugh Hefner of sexual misconduct and claimed his media empire actively silenced them are outraged over a media event this week lauding the late mogul’s free-speech legacy.
“We are living in a moment when the First Amendment and the free press are under attack. Please join us for a celebration of free speech,” reads the invite for a Tuesday evening party at Michael’s in NYC, co-hosted by Hugh’s daughter Christie Hefner alongside Columbia Journalism Review editor and publisher Kyle Pope and centered around the release of lawyer Stuart N. Brotman’s new book commemorating the late Playboy king’s commitment to free speech.
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Notably, however, A&E’s docu-series Secrets of Playboy, which just wrapped early last month, featured Hefner accusers claiming that while the mogul had an enormous impact on the free press, he ruthlessly silenced and intimidated people from speaking out about his alleged misconduct.
A few of those women spoke with Confider and criticized the timing of such a celebration in Hefner’s name. (Hefner, Pope, and Brotman did not respond to requests for comment on this story.)
“There is no freedom of speech in the world of Playboy. Playmates have been kept quiet since the beginning—unless you’re singing his or Playboy’s praises, of course,” said Sondra Theodore, a former Hefner girlfriend who has accused Hefner of “grooming” young women and keeping tapes on them to silence them. “No way can this celebration go on uninterrupted. It’s a farce,” she added.
Susie Scott Krabacher, a 1983 Playmate who accused Hefner of drugging and raping her when she was 18, called the celebration “extremely upsetting.” She added: “This man used and broke so many women.”
And ex-Playmate Miki Garcia, who has said Hefner “took away my free speech” by stopping her from writing about him allegedly drugging women, said the book party should not take place.
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Another voice from the A&E documentary, Jennifer Saginor, who wrote a tell-all about her childhood spent at the Playboy Mansion, emphasized that Hefner could be two things at once: a free-speech hero in public and an alleged abuser and silencer behind the scenes.
“I was silenced when my memoir, Playground, came out,” she said, referring to her previous claim that Hefner got all her 2005 promotional events canceled. “I believe there is truth to the hypocrisy that should be noted by all: The irony of being silenced by the ‘king of the First Amendment’ demonstrates the true nature of our culture and abuse of power in our society.”
Hefner’s family and ex-employees have defended him from the allegations about his behavior, but the Playboy brand earlier this year distanced itself from the iconic founder, writing that “today’s Playboy is not Hugh Hefner’s Playboy.” The outlet added: “We trust and validate women and their stories, and we strongly support the individuals who have come forward to share their experiences.”
The late Playboy boss’ legacy as a fierce defender of First Amendment rights led to the 1964 creation of the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation, which is now led by his daughter Christie.
The organization gives out an annual series of awards to journalists, artists, lawyers, and educators for their work in advancing free speech. This year’s awards ceremony will take place in September, with judges including The 19th News editor-in-chief Julia B. Chan, among others.
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