The late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner was one of the most controversial figures in the public eye, and one of the scandals that severely tarnished his name was the alleged assault of Playboy model Dorothy Stratten.
She was only 18 when she was hired to do a photo shoot for the famed magazine and later invited to the Playboy mansion where the assault took place. Hefner’s valet witnessed the event but was told to keep silent.
Hugh Hefner Denied Assaulting Late Playboy Model Dorothy Stratten
Director Peter Bogdanovich, who allegedly had an affair with Dorothy Stratten, released a memoir on the model’s behalf entitled The Killing of the Unicorn: Dorothy Stratten 1960-1980 to deal with his grief after her murder.
In the book, Bogdanovich accused Hugh Hefner of assaulting Stratten and revealed the malpractices that happened inside the Playboy empire. At the time, it was known that the model married Paul Snider, a nightclub promoter and pimp, to stop the Playboy founder from pursuing Stratten.
The Killing of the Unicorn stated that Hefner still went after the model. In response to this accusation, he told Rolling Stone:
“I am, publisher of Playboy or no, a very shy man. And I could no more force myself on a woman, psychologically or physically, than could the man on the moon.”
Bogdanovich also wrote in the book that his former girlfriend “could not handle the slick professional machinery of the Playboy s*x factory, nor the continual efforts of its founder to bring her into his personal fold, no matter what she wanted.”
All of these allegations took a toll on Hefner, as he claimed the stress brought by it caused him to suffer a stroke in 1985.
However, Stefan Tetenbaum, valet to Hefner, told The Daily Mail UK that he was ordered to keep his mouth shut about the alleged assault.
“After we witnessed it, the security guard whispered in my ear [that] I should go back into the butlers’ pantry and keep my mouth shut. And that’s what I did. You had to follow the rules. You had to be discreet, be quiet, carry on. Nobody was going to come forward because nobody wanted Hefner to come after you.”
Stratten’s life and career were unfortunately cut short after she was murdered by Snider, who also took his own life an hour later after he committed the crime.
Hugh Hefner’s Son Came Into His Defense Amid Accusations
Cooper Hefner, Chief Creative Officer of Playboy, defended his father against all the allegations thrown at him. He wrote in a Twitter post:
“Some may not approve of the life my Dad chose, but my father was not a liar. However unconventional, he was sincere in his approach and lived honestly. He was generous in nature and cared deeply for people. These salacious stories are a case study of regret becoming revenge.”
Hugh Hefner died in 2017 at the age of 91 from cardiac arrest and respiratory failure after contracting a drug-resistant strain of E-coli, as mentioned on his death certificate.
