Hugh Hefner and the depravity that took place at the Playboy Mansion were the subjects of several shocking claims in Monday’s episode of Secrets of Playboy. Sondra Theodore, Hefner’s ex-girlfriend, came up about her five-year relationship with the Playboy founder, calling him “a monster.”
“The things he got turned on by — nothing was enough. Nothing,” the former Playmate revealed.
From 1976 to 1981, Theodore dated Hefner and described their relationship as “like a fairytale” at first. She said, “We were so in love.” Her account, however, is similar to that of Hefner’s other girlfriends, who allege that they were groomed and isolated by him.
“He cut me off from the world,” Theodore recalled.
As per Yahoo, Hefner’s involvement with the model corresponded with his decision to date numerous women at once and live the lifestyle that Playboy magazine represented. For group sex with Hefner, Theodore had to recruit young women.
“I was told it was a party, it was getting together to have some fun,” she tearfully said. “That was my way of pretending I really wasn’t doing it.”
Theodore, who had previously claimed to be Hefner’s “drug mule,” admitted to doing cocaine to comply with what her boyfriend wanted her to do.
One of the most shocking parts of the night, according to Theodore, was walking into a room and finding Hefner fondling their dog.
“He said, ‘Dogs have needs,'” she recalled. “I never left him alone with a dog again… I could not believe what I was seeing.”
P.J. Masten, a former “bunny mother,” told a terrifying story about porn star Linda Lovelace. Masten claimed the Deep Throat star was “drunk and drugged” when he conducted a sexual act with a German Shepard dog one night at the Playboy Mansion. “We all watched,” Theodore said, confirming the terrible story, alleging Hefner confessed it happened.
Hefner allegedly brought men into the bedroom and forced her to have sex with them against her will later in their relationship, according to Theodore.
“I felt so violated having a man that I did not want to be with forced upon me,” she recalled. Her breaking point ultimately came when Hefner allegedly brought up snuff films, which is a video that purportedly shows actual homicide.
“What kind of mind is so far gone that it takes killing somebody to get them excited for that big release? He was opening my eyes to this monster. Really, he was a monster,” Theodore declared. Although she got the courage to leave, she said she’s affected daily by what transpired during her time at the Playboy Mansion.
“I lived a luxury life, yeah, but I paid dearly for it,” she stated. “I will never know how to be a normal person.”
Secrets of Playboy director Alexandra Dean told Yahoo Entertainment that getting Theodore to participate in the documentary was the most difficult aspect of the process, calling her the “main voice” of the series.
“The thing that shocked me the most is the depth of her scarring around what happened to her with Hef,” Dean said. “It was so profound and that is what convinced me more than anything else that this was a much darker story than I had initially started to make. Just looking at Sondra, listening to Sondra, you could hear all those traces of trauma.”
Dean believes he was at his darkest when he dated Theodore, according to former Playmates, Hefner’s ex-girlfriends, and mansion staff members.
“I think it was the height of his drug use as well,” she explained. “I think it unleashed things or at least it eradicated certain boundaries he might have had otherwise. The real Hef came roaring out… it’s dark.”
Dean further said, “When we think about the mansion, it’s kind of like Vegas. We think it’s fun and cute, that anything that happens in the mansion stays at the mansion. But when you look at what you’re really talking about, it’s this voracious sex addict who had to keep experimenting and pushing the boundaries of experimentation. There’s nothing fun and cute about that. It’s brutal. It’s terrifying. And there’s more than a little bit misogyny embedded in there.”
Ahead of the premiere of the A&E series last month, Playboy issued a statement.
“The Hefner family is no longer associated with Playboy, and today’s Playboy is not Hugh Hefner’s Playboy. We trust and validate these women and their stories and we strongly support those individuals who have come forward to share their experiences,” a spokesperson told Yahoo. “As a brand with sex-positivity at its core, we believe safety, security, and accountability are paramount.
The most important thing we can do right now is actively listening and learn from their experiences. As an organization with a more than 80 percent female workforce, we are committed to confronting any parts of our legacy that do not reflect our values today, and continuing the progress we have made to evolve as a company so we can drive positive change for our employees and our communities.”
