Holly Madison and others explore the dark side of the Playboy lifestyle
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
Four years after the death of Hugh Hefner, some insiders are coming forward to share what they say was the reality of life inside the Playboy empire.
A&E Network’s upcoming documentary series “Secrets of Playboy” includes interviews with “colleagues, executives, Playmates and employees from all levels of the brand” who “share the full story of what life within the Playboy world was truly like,” according to the network.
In a clip from the show, model Holly Madison, who became famous as one of Hefner’s multiple blonde girlfriends from 2001 to 2008, said she “broke” under the pressure of “being made to feel like I needed to look exactly like everybody else.”
She said she cut her long hair to try and look different, which did not go over well.
“[Hefner] flipped out on me,” she recalled. “He was screaming at me and said it made me look old, hard and cheap.”
Hefner’s friend Jonathan Baker confirmed in the clip that the mogul was upset about the makeover.
“I remember when she cut her hair,” Baker said. “He was very unhappy about it. Yup, his world.”
Bridget Marquardt, another girlfriend who costarred with Madison on the E! reality series “The Girls Next Door,” which centered on Hefner’s live-in relationship with them and fellow girlfriend Kendra Wilkinson, also discussed the tension.
“Hef would be pretty abrasive in the way he said things to Holly,” Marquardt said. “It was very frustrating to live with every day, all of the drama that was going on and the tensions.”
Hefner died in 2017 at age 91.
CNN has reached out for comment from Playboy.
“Secrets of Playboy” premieres January 24 on A&E.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
