The Secret Tapes of Hugh Hefner

Jan 25, 2022 | 6:00 AM

A&E’s new docuseries, Secrets of Playboy, is shining a light on what really happened during Hugh Hefner’s time at the Playboy Mansion. The show airs on Monday night (January 24th), but a sneak peek of the 10-part docuseries shows that Hefner allegedly “had tapes on everyone,” and that he often created them without consent.

Former Playmate Sondra Theodore, who dated Hefner from 1976 to 1981, said Hefner had two TVs in his bedroom, which mirrored what he was recording. “The first time I looked up at the two screens he had for the TV in the bedroom and I realized it was me, I’m like ‘Woah, what are you doing?’” Theodore said.

She added that when others asked Hefner not to record, he’d pretend to turn the camera off. “A week later, a couple days later, all of sudden there’s the tape. So he did it anyway. He had tapes on everyone,” Theodore said.

Hefner’s valet from 1978 to 1981, Stefan Tenenbaum, confirmed Theodore’s statement. “Hefner taped everything in his bedroom and many men and stars and athletes came into the bedroom and had sex with these girls,” Tenenbaum said. “Many of the girls were devastated after what they were expected to do, what they were forced to do. Well can you imagine, after he had all these tapes of you having sex with different girls, what power he had over these men?”