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How Playboy cut ties with Hugh Hefner to create a post-MeToo brand

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3 years ago

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How Playboy cut ties with Hugh Hefner to create a post-MeToo brand


Editor’s Note: The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writers. CNN is showcasing the work of The Conversation, a collaboration between journalists and academics to provide news analysis and commentary. The content is produced solely by The Conversation.



The Conversation
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Hugh Hefner launched Playboy Magazine 70 years ago this year. The first issue included a nude photograph of Marilyn Monroe, which he had purchased and published without her knowledge or consent.

Hefner went on to build the Playboy brand off the backs of the countless women featured in its pages, whose beauty and performance of heightened feminine sexuality have entertained its readers for generations.

Approaching its 70th anniversary in December, Playboy has radically shifted. With the magazine no longer in publication, the Playboy Mansion sold to a developer and London’s last remaining Playboy Club closing in 2021, what is the future for Playboy? The brand is changing to keep up with the post-#MeToo world.

Hefner passed away one month before allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein surfaced in 2017 giving momentum to the #MeToo movement (which saw survivors of sexual assault and harassment speak out against their abusers).

READ MORE: Sex, love and companionship … with AI? Why human-machine relationships could go mainstream

In recent years, many have re-evaluated Hefner’s legacy and relationships with women. The 2022 docuseries “The Secrets of Playboy” (which aired on Channel 4 in the UK) detailed sexual misconduct accusations against Hefner from several ex-girlfriends, including model Sondra Theodore and TV personality Holly Madison.

Hugh Hefner and Pamela Anderson during Playboy's 50th Anniversary Celebration at New York Armory in New York City.

Hefner and Playboy’s relationship with women has been complicated. Playboy was an early supporter of abortion rights, helped fund the first rape kit and was at times an early proponent of inclusivity (for example featuring transgender model, Caroline “Tula” Cossey, in its June 1981 issue). But most women featured in Playboy have fit within a narrow beauty standard — thin, white, able-bodied and blonde.

Meanwhile Hefner’s personal relationship with his much younger girlfriends reportedly followed patterns of control and emotional abuse. Ex-girlfriend Holly Madison described Hefner as treating her “like a glorified pet” in her 2015 memoir, “Down the Rabbit Hole.”

Hefner’s passing meant he evaded reckoning with the #MeToo movement. Playboy, however, responded, releasing a statement in which it affirmed support for the women featured in “The Secrets of Playboy” and called Hefner’s actions “abhorrent.”

The statement declared that the brand was no longer affiliated with the Hefner family and would be focusing on aspects of the company’s legacy that align with values of sex positivity and free expression.

READ MORE: The ‘milf’: a brief cultural history, from Mrs Robinson to Stifler’s mom

Today, Playboy is a very different company from the one Hefner launched nearly 70 years ago. Roughly 80% of Playboy staff identify as women, according the company, and its motto has changed from “Entertainment for Men” to “Pleasure for All.” Shares in the company are publicly traded and 40% of its board and management are women.

The company has also moved towards more creator-led content through its app, Playboy Centerfold. Similar to subscription content service OnlyFans, Playboy Centerfold allows subscribers to view content from and interact with its creators, which it call “bunnies.”

Playboy

On the app, creators — or bunnies — are able portray their own bodies however they wish, putting the power back in their hands. Perhaps Playboy’s future is no longer in serving the male gaze, but instead the very audience Hefner dismissed in his first letter from the editor:

“If you’re a man between the ages of 18 and 80 Playboy is meant for you … If you’re somebody’s sister, wife or mother-in-law and picked us up by mistake, please pass us along to the man in your life and get back to your Ladies Home Companion.”

The stars of Playboy’s mid-2000s reality series, Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt, are also enjoying a resurgence among fans.

“The Girls Next Door” launched in 2004. The show focused on the lives of Hefner’s three girlfriends, Madison, Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson. It became E’s best performing show and cultivated a new female audience for Playboy.

“The Girls Next Door” was a story of complicated empowerment despite patriarchal interference. Its three female protagonists went from being known solely as some of Hefner’s many blonde girlfriends, to celebrities in their own right.

They each ultimately broke up with Hefner, leaving the Mansion and going on to lead successful careers.

The show’s depiction of Madison, Marquardt and Wilkinson as empowered, fun-loving and complex individuals, who found joy and agency through expressing their sexuality was perhaps what drew so many female fans to the show. However, amid the girls’ fight for agency, Hefner retaliated.

Bridget Marquardt and Hugh Hefner with Holly Madison and Kendra Wilkinson in 2008.

The series shows that he maintained final say in every Playboy photograph of the girls, as well as imposing strict curfews and spending allowances.

In Madison and Wilkinson’s memoirs, “Down the Rabbit Hole,” and “Sliding into Home,” they claim that production consistently undermined them. They refused to pay them for the first season, didn’t credit them until season four and aired their uncensored nude bodies in foreign broadcasts and DVD releases without consent.

READ MORE: #MeToo in space: We must address the potential for sexual harassment and assault away from Earth

Fan interest in “The Girls Next Door” remains strong. In August 2022 Madison and Marquardt launched their podcast “Girls Next Level,” where they interview previous playmates and interact with fans. They also recap episodes from their own points of view, unpacking their experiences of working on the show.

Having reached 10 million downloads as of February 2023, the success of the podcast — 14 years after the last episode of “The Girls Next Door” — speaks to the cultural legacy of the Playboy brand. It also shows that despite Hefner’s original editor’s note, Playboy resonates with some women.

Playboy is now in a post-Hefner era, where the imagery of women found within old issues of Playboy can serve as inspiration for others to enjoy their own sexuality. Whatever the future has for the company, the concept of Playboy has become public property — be that in the appearance of Playboy bunny costumes each Halloween, the popularity of cheeky Playboy logo tattoos or branded lingerie and clothing.

In a post-#MeToo era, the women of Playboy are speaking up and taking over. With the mansion gates closed, the bunnies are finally reclaiming the brand as their own.

Top Image: Hugh Hefner with Playboy “bunnies” in London in 1966.



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Law firms helping migrants pose as gay to get asylum in UK: report

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6 hours ago

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April 15, 2026

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Law firms helping migrants pose as gay to get asylum in UK: report


This representational image shows commuters cross London Bridge, in London, Britain, January 13, 2025. — Reuters
This representational image shows commuters cross London Bridge, in London, Britain, January 13, 2025. — Reuters 

LONDON: A BBC undercover investigation has alleged that a network of immigration advisers, paralegals and associated intermediaries has been helping migrants fabricate asylum claims in the UK by falsely presenting themselves as gay, charging thousands of pounds for false narratives, staged evidence and interview coaching.

At least three law firms – one of these owned by Pakistanis – have been accused by the BBC of fabricating the asylum claims through illegal means.

The law firms include Law and Justice Solicitors and Connaught Law. Law and Justice is owned by Michael Oluyemi Makinde and Connaught Law is owned by Nauman Javid, Sheryar Khan, Zehra Tamkan and Awais Javed.

According to the BBC investigation, the abuse centres on migrants, particularly from Pakistan and Bangladesh, whose student, work or tourist visas are close to expiring and who are then allegedly advised to seek asylum on the basis of sexual orientation, as being gay or lesbian.

Using undercover reporters posing as international students from Pakistan and Bangladesh, the BBC said it tested whether immigration advisers would encourage false sexuality-based asylum claims.

It reported finding multiple individuals willing to discuss fake claims, suggest supporting evidence and quote fees for handling such cases. Among the findings were allegations that Connaught Law firm quoted up to £7,000 for a fabricated claim and described the chances of refusal as “very low”, while another adviser allegedly offered to arrange fake supporting letters, photographs and even a supposed sexual partner to back up an asylum application.

The BBC undercover reporter made an appointment with Aqeel Abbasi, a senior legal adviser at Connaught Law, which has its offices in Central London on Gray’s Inn Road.

Abbasi told the BBC reporter that he could help him stay in the country and appeared to be willing to direct him on how to fabricate evidence for a fake claim. He promised that the chance of refusal by the Home Office was “very low”.

He said his fee would be £7,000 and, once that had been paid, his office would contact the undercover reporter to guide them through the process and the kind of evidence required.

This would include advising him on “where to go or what specific actions to take”.

The legal adviser also suggested the undercover reporter would need to find someone willing to pretend to be his male/gay partner. When the reporter said he had a wife in Pakistan, Abbasi was quick to suggest a cover story to explain this, by saying that things were “more open” in the UK than in Pakistan and that he now had a male partner.

“We will prepare a statement for you, and once you read it, you will understand exactly how it is,” said Abbasi.

A significant part of the investigation focused on Worcester LGBT, a support organisation for gay and lesbian asylum seekers, which holds monthly meetings attended by large numbers of migrants from across the country.

The BBC traced the undercover reporter’s route to the group through Mazedul Hasan Shakil, a paralegal at Law and Justice Solicitors, an immigration firm based in Birmingham and London, who is also described as founder and chairman of Worcester LGBT.

The reporter received a call from a woman identified as Tanisa (Shakil’s associate), who, in Urdu, allegedly became much more direct about using a “gay case” as the only realistic route to stay in Britain.

When told the reporter was not gay, Tanisa replied: “There is nobody who is real. There is only one way out in order to live here now and that is the very method everyone is adopting.” The BBC identified her as Tanisa Khan, an adviser linked to Worcester LGBT.

The broadcaster then described an initial meeting in Forest Gate, east London, which took place in Tanisa’s home.

According to the report, she laid out a plan to fabricate an asylum claim on the grounds of same-sex orientation, warning that the applicant would have to memorise a false story convincingly for Home Office interviews. The report said she offered to obtain a letter from someone claiming to have had sexual relations with the applicant and said she would fully prepare him for the Home Office process.

She charged £2,500, with additional costs if the claim failed and went to appeal. The BBC also said she suggested that if the reporter later brought his wife from Pakistan to Britain, she too could make a false asylum claim by pretending to be lesbian.

The BBC showed its footage to immigration lawyer Ana Gonzalez, who has 30 years of experience. She said Tanisa appeared to be “committing fraud by manufacturing a claim” and warned that such conduct makes life harder for genuine asylum seekers, especially LGBT claimants whose cases are often difficult to prove objectively.

The report said precise figures for fabricated claims are impossible to establish, but Home Office data suggests a disproportionate number of sexuality-based asylum claims come from Pakistani nationals.

In 2023, there were 3,430 initial decisions on LGBT asylum claims and nearly 1,400 new claims based on sexual orientation. Of these, 42% were lodged by Pakistani nationals, who also accounted for the highest number in each of the previous five years. The article noted that Pakistanis were only the fourth most common nationality across all asylum applications and made up just 6% of total claims overall.

Nearly two-thirds of asylum seekers claiming persecution on grounds of sexual orientation had their claims granted at initial decision stage in 2023.

The Home Office told the BBC that making an asylum claim through deception is a criminal offence and that anyone convicted can face prison and deportation.

It said misuse of protections designed for people fleeing genuine persecution because of their sexuality was deplorable, but insisted that the asylum system includes safeguards and that claims are rigorously assessed.

The department added that abuse is actively investigated and procedures are continually reviewed.





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Iran says to host Pakistani delegation as exchanges continue with US

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7 hours ago

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April 15, 2026

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Iran says to host Pakistani delegation as exchanges continue with US



Iran will be hosting a high-ranking political and security delegation from Pakistan on Wednesday, as indirect exchanges of messages between Tehran and Washington continue, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman announced.

Esmail Baghaei, speaking in response to a question from IRNA, confirmed that Tehran is expected to receive the Pakistani delegation today.

“Today, we are most likely hosting a delegation from Pakistan,” Baghaei said.

“Following the talks that took place in Islamabad, and also the discussions that the Pakistani side has had with the United States, our views have been conveyed and heard,” he said.

He added, “Naturally, during this visit, the two sides are expected to discuss their viewpoints in detail.”

Meanwhile, informed sources in Pakistan confirmed that a high-level security-political delegation, comprising prominent Pakistani figures, left Islamabad for Tehran a short while ago, IRIB news reported.

According to the sources, the delegation is carrying a new message from Washington for Tehran.

The delegation is scheduled to meet with Iranian officials to discuss future negotiations, the sources said.

The development comes as a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States will expire on April 22.

The United States and Israel launched their unprovoked war of aggression against Iran on February 28, assassinating the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and striking nuclear facilities, schools, hospitals and civilian infrastructure.



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Israel must not be allowed to sabotage US-Iran ceasefire: Turkey’s Erdogan

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7 hours ago

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April 15, 2026

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Israel must not be allowed to sabotage US-Iran ceasefire: Turkey’s Erdogan



Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned against the Israeli regime’s attempts to sabotage a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran, saying that Ankara will push for an extension of the truce and ensure peace talks continue in Pakistan.

Addressing a parliament session on Wednesday, Erdogan said that the Israeli prime minister’s cabinet, “which is known to be unhappy with the ceasefire process, must not be allowed to sabotage it.”

The Turkish leader said that his government is making the “necessary appeals and initiatives” to ease tensions and extend the ceasefire, which is set to expire on April 20.

The two-week ceasefire, announced last week, 40 days after the US and the Israeli regime launched their war of aggression against Iran, provided a fragile window for diplomacy. It will expire on April 22.

Over the weekend, high-level peace talks between US and Iranian officials took place in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. While the talks ended without an agreement, regional governments are urging both sides to return to the negotiating table.

Erdogan also urged the two sides to utilize “the window of opportunity opened by the ceasefire” before its expiration.

“If there is to be peace in our region, it will be despite the Zionist regime,” Erdogan said. “If stability is achieved, it will again be despite the Israeli government.”

The Turkish president also condemned the aggression against Lebanon, warning that continued airstrikes are harming hopes for peace.

He said that Turkey will continue “to be the follower of the cause of children killed in their sleep in Lebanon,” referring to Israel’s airstrikes that have killed more than 2,000 people—including many women and children—since early March, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Despite the fact that the ceasefire between the US and Iran explicitly covered Lebanon, the Israeli regime continues its military aggression against the country, blatantly ignoring the terms of the truce.

This ongoing aggression is seen by regional observers as a deliberate attempt by Tel Aviv to sabotage the peace talks.



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