London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 28, 2026

‘Depraved’ Playboy founder accused of bestiality and grooming

‘Depraved’ Playboy founder accused of bestiality and grooming

Even Bill Cosby's name showed up in the explosive documentary, which paints Hugh Hefner as a predator

Playboy founder Hugh Hefner may have passed on in 2017 at the age of 91, but there are still plenty of people with much to say about the man, evidenced in a new documentary in which he is accused of everything from sexual assault to bestiality.

The 10-part A&E documentary series titled ‘Secrets of Playboy’, which premieres on Monday night, features many figures from Hefner’s life, including former Playmate models, as well as ex-girlfriend Sondra Theodore, who described the infamous cigar-smoking, pajama-wearing media mogul as a “predator” who groomed young women.

Theodore herself said she began dating Hefner when he was 50 and she was 19. She said he plied her with alcohol when she was under the legal age and later introduced her to drugs.

Perhaps the most shocking claim is Hefner’s supposed preference later in life for the company of animals.

“I walked in on him with my dog and I said, ‘What are you doing?’ I was shocked,” Theodore told the New York Post, claiming she caught Hefner performing a sexual act with the animal. “He made it seem like it was just a one-time thing, and that he was just goofing off. But I never left him alone with my dog again.”

Another woman claimed that adult film actress Linda Lovelace was coaxed with drugs by Hefner and other men to perform a sexual act on a dog at a party. That incident was recalled by former Playboy employee PJ Masten, who was for many years in charge of the Playmate models.

“She was drunk and drugged…They got her so messed up that they made her give the German Shepherd oral sex. You wanna talk about depravity? This is despicable,” Masten said.

Hefner also apparently had a penchant for snuff films and he was accused of filming sexual acts without consent, drugging woman and coercing them into sexual encounters.

Masten also accused Hefner’s “good friend” Bill Cosby of assaulting her. Cosby has been accused of sexual assault by numerous women whose stories cover the span of most of his career.

Former associates of Hefner claim he used the Playboy Mansion as a way to gather dirt on celebrities, models, and even law enforcement in an attempt to keep his alleged misconduct hidden from public view.

In a public statement responding to the documentary earlier this month, Playboy acknowledged there are “elements” of the company’s past they find “unworthy of our principles.” They added that the Hefner family is “no longer associated with Playboy.”

Hugh Hefner’s son, Cooper, has meanwhile defended his father, saying this week on Twitter that Hugh Hefner “was not a liar” and chalked up “salacious stories” about him as “regret becoming revenge.”


 


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Nearly 23,000 UK Households Expected to Move Home on Busiest Day of 2026
UK Benefit Payments to Arrive Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
Reform UK Pledges to Replace GDPR and Cut Tax Administration Red Tape
Andy Burnham Launches Work Experience Plan for One Million Young People Outside Education or Work
Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backlash After Dropping Support for Political Donations Cap
Andy Burnham Announces UK-Wide Summit With Leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Met Office Warns of Heavy Rain and Flood Risk Across England and Wales After Summer Heat
Bank of England Warns AI Adoption Could Reduce Demand for Automatable Jobs
UK Confirms National Salmonella Outbreak With More Than 200 Cases
UK Airports Handle Record 81 Million Passengers Despite Middle East Disruption
Ofgem Raises UK Energy Price Cap by Four Percent to £1,723
Cyber Attack Hits Customer Data Systems at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands Airports
TSA Unveils Major Airport-Security Overhaul as It Drops Gold+ Privatization Plan
CIA Chief Warned Russia Against Attacking NATO in Secret Moscow Mission
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After Lamborghini Crash
The Secret Dolly Parton Kept Until Her Death: "She Was Much Sicker Than She Let On"
Middlesbrough House Fire Kills Woman and Seven-Year-Old Girl
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Return to UK Amid Renewed Media Attention
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After London Collision
Greenpeace Threatens Legal Action Over Crown Estate Offshore Wind Leasing
Nvidia Revenue Surges to Ninety-Six Point Two Billion Dollars on Artificial Intelligence Demand
Meta Agrees to Global Youth Safety Changes Following Multi-State Legal Settlement
UK Government Plans Autumn Summit With Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Leaders
CMA Caps Veterinary Prescription Fees at Twenty-One Pounds
Thames Water Pilot Records Forever Chemicals at Thirteen Times the Legal Limit
Kent Meningitis Outbreak Reaches Thirty-Four Confirmed Cases
Forty Children Missing From UK Asylum Accommodation Remain Unaccounted For
UK Court Upholds VAT on Private School Fees
US Designates Palestine Action as Foreign Terrorist Organization
UK Approves Massive New Chinese Embassy Complex in London Amid Security Concerns
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv and Offers Cruise Missile Designs to Ukraine
Glacier Collapse, Not Earthquake, Triggered Deadly Nepal-Tibet Flood
Andy Burnham Drops Plan to Cap Political Donations
Conservative Leadership Contest Intensifies as Robert Jenrick Attacks Kemi Badenoch
French-Born Defence Secretary Wes Streeting Condemns Homophobic Abuse Since Taking Office
UK Government Delays Commercial Robotaxi Rollout in London Over Regulatory Gaps
NHS Complaints About Autism and ADHD Care Waiting Times Triple Over Five Years
UK Government Launches 10,000 Work Placements for Young People With Sainsbury's
NHS England to Offer Free At-Home Cervical Cancer Screening Kits
EU Biometric Border Checks Cause Delays of Up to Five Hours for British Travellers
US Imposes Economic Sanctions on UK-Based Protest Group Palestine Action
Two Planned UK Datacentres Could Produce More Annual Carbon Emissions Than ExxonMobil's Entire UK Operation
London Surgeons Complete First Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Brain Tumour Removal
UK Services Growth Rebounds as Consumer Confidence Reaches Two-Year High
Ofgem Confirms Four Percent October Energy Price Cap Increase for UK Households
Government Considers Insolvency Law Changes to Bring Thames Water Into Public Ownership
Andy Burnham Signs Artificial Intelligence Defence Pact During Visit to Kyiv
Church of England Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over Historical Safeguarding Failures
Reform UK Proposes £30 Tax Credit for Long HMRC Telephone Queues
Greater Manchester Secures More Than £100 Million to Upgrade Victorian Railway Stations
×