Fox News’ Jennifer Saginor reveals that Hefner was ‘number one’ in regards to the image of Playboy’s empire.
Jennifer Saginor published a book nearly 17 years ago exposing the dark side Hugh Hefner’s Playboy mansion. It included the drugs, sex and bikini-clad women who were running wild.
The “Playground” author was much more than a mere visitor to Hefner’s sprawling playground. At age 6 she first stepped foot on the famed property of the late Playboy founder. By age 11 she had her own bedroom. She would return to the property every day until 2010. Saginor stated that she was not like other Playmates and girlfriends who went to the mansion in order to make a career. She wasn’t there for love, fame, fortune, or money. Her unique upbringing at the mansion was not due to the fact her father, Hefner’s physician, and best friend Mark Saginor (also known as “Dr. Feelgood” or “Doc.”
After years of being the first to provide a behind-the scenes look at Hefner’s empire, Saginor now appears in the A&E 10-part docuseries that premiered last week. It’s titled “Secrets of Playboy.” Saginor spoke out to Fox News Digital about the extreme measures Hefner would take to save his reputation, and what he thinks of the allegations against his ex-girlfriends.
“I could feel him rolling in the grave, laughing, because it was almost as if these women had fallen in love with him, and wanted more commitment. Saginor stated that they wanted monogamy, marriage, and children.
Sondra Theodore is Holly Madison, one of Hefner’s ex-girlfriends. They made the allegations in the series. Madison, who appeared on E!’s Girls Next Door, claimed that Hefner was a “mountain-of-vengeance porn” and didn’t want to use protection during sex. Theodore said that she was “groomed by” the Playboy founder who died in 2017.
Saginor has vivid childhood memories of the mansion. These include seeing “orgies” turn into “candybows” with Quaaludes, amphetamines, and ecstasy as they grew older.
Saginor said, “I was in an inner circle.” “I saw all my girlfriends go and come.” “I walked in and saw them through all of my childhood.”
A spokesperson for Playboy released a statement to Fox News in response to the documentary. The statement stated that “Today’s Playboy was not Hugh Hefner”s Playboy. We trust these women and their stories, and we support anyone who has shared their story. We believe safety, security and accountability are the most important aspects of a brand that promotes sex positivity.
It continued, “The most important thing that we can do right now it actively listen to their experiences and learn from them.” “We won’t be afraid to confront those parts of our company’s legacy that don’t reflect our values.
The statement concluded that “As an organization employing more than 80% women, we are committed both to our continued evolution as a company” and to promoting positive change in our communities.
Saginor was preparing to publish her memoir in 2004-2005 when Hefner caught her off guard. Saginor initially said Hefner had spoken to her about her book and “he pretended that he was proud”
She said that she is still “annoyed” by what happened next. The “Girls Next Door”, a reality series that follows Hefner’s relationships to her live-in girlfriends Madison Wilkinson, Kendra Wilkinson, and Bridget Marquardt, premiered on E! two months after she published her book.
Saginor said she was “blindsided by Girls Next Door” and that it was “manufactured by Hefner in response to her book. Saginor said that she didn’t find out about it until her book came out. He planned it perfectly.
Saginor claimed that Hef was behind the scenes pulling strings to showcase the luxurious lifestyle of his girlfriends via television. This was also a great way to get positive press about him, while her book would focus on the substance abuse and underage sex she witnessed at the mansion.
“I believe he was very upset about me and my father [about the book].” It was like being in the mafia, and suddenly you’re talking to each other about what happened. It was like I couldn’t speak my truth. They weren’t being blasted. Saginor stated, “I was only telling my story because i felt so alone that i wanted to connect with others out there.”
He medic’s daughter claimed that Hefner had gotten a copy of her manuscript from HarperCollins early. Dey Street Books published the book under its imprint.
Saginor claimed that Hef called the publisher a year before my book was published and pretended they wanted to see my manuscript. He and his marketing team had plenty of time to plan a strategy to avoid negative publicity.
Josh Behar, a former HarperCollins senior editor, confirmed the claim that Hefner was involved anonymously.
“We do give manuscripts out to movie studios and to scouts to help us get a movie deal. A lot of manuscripts were sent. We had lots of publicity for Jennifer after they were sent out. However, a lot of it died down. Behar said that there was much talk at the publishing house about Hefner seeing this book and was going to put a kibosh on them.
E!’s hit show “Girls Next Door”, was a success. Saginor, however, was still at the mansion and was frequently ignored or threatened, she claimed.
She claimed that “one of Hef’s secretaries, who is no more alive, made a very, very, real threat to my life,”
It came down to one simple thing: Saginor’s image of Hef.
It all comes down to Playboy’s perception and image, which was his top priority above everything else. All of it was manufactured. I wrote about this stuff, and got the cold shoulder. Hef used “Girls Next Door” to save his image.
