Hugh Hefner’s youngest two sons said Wednesday they “have never seen inappropriate images of minors” in the thousands of scrapbooks and diaries the late Playboy founder maintained.
The statement from Cooper and Marston Hefner came one day after Hefner’s widow called for an investigation into the handling and possible publication of the scrapbooks and diaries, saying they contain sexually charged photos of uncounted women — including herself — and possibly some minors.
“We have personally reviewed these materials extensively over many years, as have numerous historians, filmmakers, and journalists, including those who have both celebrated and critically examined his life’s work,” the statement from Cooper and Marston Hefner said.
“Over more than a quarter-century of familiarity with these materials, we have never seen inappropriate images of minors, as has been suggested. The scrapbooks document decades of personal, professional, and family history. Our father lived much of his life publicly and assembled these materials as a historical record, with the intention that they ultimately be preserved and reviewed in full context, not hidden or concealed.
“We believe claims of this magnitude should be supported by evidence and precision, not implication without proof. We support the preservation of the scrapbooks in partnership with a university or museum, along with responsible public access consistent with his long standing wishes.
On Tuesday, Crystal Hefner called on the attorneys general of California and Illinois to investigate the Hefner diaries and the possibility they may be digitized by the Hugh Hefner Foundation.
Crystal Hefner said the diaries “chronicle private moments that took place behind closed doors.”
“There are serious and unresolved concerns about the scope of what these books contain,” she said at a Los Angeles news conference with attorney Gloria Allred,
According to Crystal Hefner, the photos in the diaries were private images, never intended for publication in Playboy or in any other format.
Allred told reporters the diaries contain images of thousands of women, mostly while naked and often engaged in sexual activity.
“Crystal is especially concerned that these scrapbooks could contain images of minor girls,” Allred said. “Minors cannot legally or morally give their consent to be photographed naked or in sexual positions. The law is unequivocal that the possession, digitization and or distribution of naked and or sexual images of minors is illegal.
“Moreover, Crystal is also concerned that some of the images in the scrapbooks may have been taken without the informed consent of the adult women depicted, such as while they were intoxicated.”
Crystal Hefner said the photos should be destroyed. She said she was recently removed as president of the Hefner Foundation, a move she claims was prompted by her concerns about the handling of the materials in the diaries and scrapbooks.
Crystal Hefner was married to the Playboy founder from 2012 until his death in September 2017 at age 91.