Hugh Hefner’s widow Crystal Hefner calls for investigation into Playboy founder’s foundation

The widow of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner is calling for an inquiry into her late husband’s foundation over concerns it holds explicit images of underage girls.

Crystal Hefner made the announcement this week at a press conference with prominent women’s rights lawyer Gloria Allred, according to CNN.

Hefner said she had filed regulatory complaints in two states against the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation, which she claims is in possession of about 3000 of her late husband’s personal diaries and scrapbooks.

Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and his wife Crystal in front of the Playboy Mansion. Photo / Twitter @hughhefner

“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,” she said.

“They may also contain images of women who did not consent to their images being taken in the first place,” adding some may have been inebriated.

Hugh and Crystal Hefner married in 2012, aged 86 and 26 respectively.

“I must have been brainwashed or something,” she later said of the marriage, calling the relationship “transactional”.

Hefner said the scope of her request focused on her late husband’s scrapbooks and “private moments that took place behind closed doors”, and not any images published in Playboy magazine, CNN reported.

Allred confirmed the regulatory complaints had been filed with attorney-general offices in California, where Hugh Hefner was domiciled, and Illinois, where the foundation has its headquarters.

The famed lawyer said the purpose of the investigation is to prevent any future distribution of the images by first ascertaining how they are currently being stored and handled.

Hefner said she was concerned the images, which she understood were in storage awaiting digitisation, could be leaked in a data hack.

The late Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine. Photo / Supplied

The Hollywood Reporter said the foundation has not yet commented on the complaints, however, Hugh Hefner’s sons Marston and Cooper Hefner said their stepmother’s concerns were unfounded.

“Over more than a quarter century of familiarity with these materials, we have never seen inappropriate images of minors, as has been suggested,” they said.

“Our father lived much of his life publicly and assembled these materials as a historical record, with the intention that they ultimately be preserved and reviewed in full context, not hidden or concealed.”

“This is not about money,” Hefner said, labelling her stand a “civil rights issue”.

“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.”

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