[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Hugh Hefner kept thousands of nude images of women, and even potentially underage girls, according to his widow! And she’s now working to make sure none of it ever gets out to the wrong hands — once she finds them!
On Tuesday, Crystal Hefner sat down for a press conference with high-profile attorney Gloria Allred to announce that she filed regulatory complaints in two different states, California and Illinois, against the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation.
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She demanded the Attorney Generals investigate the foundation because they allegedly possess 3,000 personal scrapbooks with explicit photos of women and possibly underage girls, as well as Hugh’s diary with sensitive information about his sexual exploits, including names of his sexual partners, notes about their sex acts, and even information about their menstrual cycles.
WTF?!
Crystal made it clear that these were not images featured in Playboy. No, they are nude and sexually explicit pictures taken potentially without the women’s consent — and may illegally feature minors — starting all the way back in the 1960s.
Some of the photos, Allred also pointed out, may have been taken while the women were intoxicated, so they were unable to give consent. Crystal went on to explain:
“It is critical for the public to understand that I am not referring to images that appeared in magazines. My focus is on how Hugh Hefner’s personal scrapbooks chronicle private moments that took place behind closed doors. There are serious and unresolved concerns about the scope of what these books contain. The materials span decades, beginning in the 1960s, and may include images of girls who were underage at the time and could not consent to how their images would be retained or controlled. They may also contain images of women who did not consent to their images being taken in the first place. The scrapbooks include nude images, images taken before and after sexual activity, and other deeply intimate moments. This is not historical documentation. This is the cataloging and objectification of women’s most private details.”
So disturbing! And what makes all this worse? Crystal doesn’t really know where any of the material is! She claimed she was told the scrapbooks are in “a storage facility in California,” but some could be inside a private residence waiting “to be scanned and digitized.” That part is unclear, and she hasn’t even received a straight answer on where the diary actually is!
OMG!
Crystal was informed that “sensitive items” were placed in a box and sealed in a secure location, but she also has no clue if it’s in the possession of the foundation or not.
Allred shared that “Crystal did not consent to having her intimate images stored by and accessible to the foundation, and we believe that many of the other women and or girls depicted did not consent either.” Since the former Playboy model doesn’t really know where the diary and scrapbooks are or how it’s being protected, she is now extremely concerned about the nude images and explicit information getting out:
“I am deeply worried about these images getting out. Artificial intelligence, deepfakes, digital scanning, online marketplaces, and data breaches mean that once images leave secure custody, the harm is irreversible. A single security failure could devastate thousands of lives.”
We don’t want to even think about that happening. How horrible.
When Crystal brought up her concerns to the board, she alleged she was ignored and “asked to resign” from her position as head of the foundation, which is “publicly claims to stand for civil rights and civil liberties.” And yet, her very valid concerns weren’t taken seriously.
WTF.
Crystal refused to step down, but they ultimately kicked her out anyway:
“Though I declined to resign my position yesterday, in direct response to my escalating concerns regarding the handling of private photos contained in the scrapbooks, I was unilaterally removed from my position as the Chief Executive Officer/President of the Foundation.”
She concluded:
“Women have the right to bodily autonomy. We have the right to control our own likeness. We have the right to say that intimate images created under unequal conditions do not get to follow us for the rest of our lives. This is not about money. I am seeking dignity, safety, and the destruction of non-consensual intimate materials so that the exploitation does not continue under the banner of philanthropy. Thousands of women may be affected. This is a civil rights issue. Women’s bodies are not property, not history, and not collectibles, and no organization should be allowed to claim the language of civil rights while denying women their most basic one, the right to control their own bodies and images.”
Well said.
Crystal hopes both of the Attorney Generals of California, where Hugh lived, and Illinois, where the foundation is headquartered, will track down and investigate how the scrapbooks and diary are being handled and stored to stop any potential distribution of the sensitive and explicit material. At this time, a spokesperson for the Illinois Attorney General’s Office confirmed to CNN that it received the complaint and is reviewing it.
We applaud Crystal for fighting to protect not only herself but also the other women and potentially young girls. Watch the entire press conference (below):
[Image via FayesVision/Faye Sadou/WENN, CBS Mornings/YouTube]
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