In the view of one of Hugh Hefner’s ex-girlfriends, the legendary men’s magazine publisher wasn’t the kindly arbiter of fun Playboy Mansion parties and consensual free love but a manipulator who emotionally abused the pretty young women in his orbit.
Holly Madison’s new tell-all memoir, “Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny,” recounts the years of emotional abuse she says she endured while living with Hefner in his famous mansion.
Excerpts of Madison’s memoir appear in Us Weekly. The magazine’s cover story features Madison’s recollection of her first meeting with Hefner in 2001. He offered her a quaalude, a drug he himself referred to as a “thigh opener.”
The 35-year-old admits she should have known better, but she ended up moving into the mansion a few weeks later, where she soon had to deal with the constantly changing alliances among the other women living in the house — with Hefner pulling the strings.
“I learned Hef was the manipulator and that he pitted us against one another,” she noted. “I realized I wasn’t treated well. I’m done being afraid of people. I don’t have any loyalty to Hef. I haven’t talked to him in four years, so there’s no reason to reach out now. Besides, it’s the truth.”
Madison writes that Hefner was controlling in other ways, abusing her emotionally if she decided to wear red lipstick or get a haircut.
Madison said she’s been able to open up about the dark side of Playboy Mansion life, thanks to the fact that she never signed a nondisclosure agreement. She also refused to allow Hefner to buy her silence by bestowing $3 million to her in his will.
“At the time, it was more money than I’d ever know what to do with … But I didn’t want it,” said Madison who has been married since 2013 and is mother to a 2-year-old daughter.
Martha Ross provides celebrity commentary for the Bay Area News Group. Follow her at twitter.com/marthajross.
