Hugh Hefner’s Sons Fire Back at Crystal Hefner Over Explosive Scrapbook Allegations

Hugh Hefner’s widow, Crystal Hefner, is going toe-to-toe with the foundation her late husband founded in the 1960s. She’s calling out foundation leadership for failing to consider consent and the legality of the photos in the scrapbooks they possess. Crystal Hefner has suggested Hugh’s private archive contains photos of women who did not consent to having their photos taken and who were underage at the time. Now, his sons, Cooper and Marston Hefner, are speaking out. They deny everything Crystal claims.

Crystal  Hefner says Hugh’s scrapbooks might contain illegal content

Crystal Hefner, who was married to Hugh Hefner from 2012 until his death in 2017, has made some pretty big allegations recently. In a press conference, the widow of the Playboy mogul alleges that Hugh’s foundation is in possession of thousands of images that were taken over the years. She’s not sure they were all legally procured, though. Crystal claims that Hugh Hefner’s scrapbooks may contain images intended to remain private. She thinks there are images taken without consent, too. In addition, Crystal Hefner claims she believes there are photos that depict women who were underage when their photos were taken.

In her announcement, Hefner, along with Gloria Allred, asked the Attorneys General of California and Illinois to investigate. They believe the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation has mishandled materials since her husband’s death at the age of 91. According to the Los Angeles Times, Crystal Hefner has also accused the foundation of trying to hide the issue. She claims she was removed from a leadership role after raising concerns about the scrapbooks.

The foundation, founded by Hugh Hefner in the 1960s, has not commented on the allegations. Still, the family is speaking out.

His sons say she had no proof

Crystal Hefner has doubled down on her allegations that her late husband’s scrapbooks contain images of underage girls. His sons say that the opposite is true. Following Crystal’s announcement, both Cooper and Marston Hefner spoke out. In a statement issued to Global News, Cooper and Marston insist the scrapbooks don’t contain any illegal material. They have both been involved with the foundation in the past.

The brothers claim that multiple people, from historians to filmmakers, have reviewed Hugh’s archives and scrapbooks and have never raised any red flags about their contents. They went on to claim that Crystal Hefner has made very serious allegations without any “proof” to support them. They stopped short of speculating on the widow’s motivations.  

Marston and Cooper Hefner were born in 1990 and 1991, respectively, during Hefner’s second marriage. While the brothers, born to Kimberley Conrad, are the most public-facing of Hefner’s children, they are not the only ones he had. Hefner has two much older children. His daughter, Christie Hefner, was born in 1952 and was actively involved with Playboy until 2009. His older son, David Hefner, was born in 1955 and has almost completely shied away from the public eye and the family business. Neither has spoken about Crystal Hefner’s revelations.