Crystal Hefner, the widow of Hugh Hefner, has expressed her concerns regarding the potential public exposure of the Playboy founder’s explicit scrapbooks.
Crystal, who was Hugh Hefner’s third wife, has reported filing regulatory complaints with the California and Illinois attorney generals. Her apprehension stems from the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation’s alleged plans to digitize explicit scrapbooks.
These scrapbooks are said to contain nude images of women, including Crystal herself, and may feature images of underage girls.
She claims that some images in the collection might have been captured without the subjects’ consent.
Crystal fears that if these scrapbooks are digitized, a potential security breach or cyber attack could lead to the public release of these intimate images.
During a press conference held at her attorney Gloria Allred’s office, Crystal made a statement elaborating on the contents of the scrapbooks.
Her statement included: “The materials span decades, beginning in the 1960s, and may include images of girls who were underage at the time and could not consent to how their images would be retained or controlled.
“They may also contain images of women who did not consent to their images being taken in the first place. The scrapbooks include nude images, images taken before and after sexual activity, and other deeply intimate moments.
“They contain intimate material involving women who are now mothers, grandmothers, professionals, and private citizens who have spent decades building their lives with no idea these images were still being hoarded.”
Crystal further explained: “I believe they include women, and possibly girls, who never agreed to lifelong private possession of their naked images, and who have no transparency into where their photos are, how they are being stored, or what will happen to them next.”
She also voiced her ‘deeply worried’ feelings about the possibility of the images being made public.
“Artificial intelligence, deepfakes, digital scanning, online marketplaces, and data breaches mean that once images leave secure custody, the harm is irreversible. A single security failure could devastate thousands of lives,” she added.
The scrapbooks are said to contain detailed information about the women Hefner was involved with, the sexual activities they engaged in, and personal details like their menstrual cycles.
Attorney Gloria Allred supported Crystal’s concerns, stating: “Crystal is especially concerned that these scrapbooks could contain images of minor girls.
“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 also revealed that she was recently removed from her position as president of the foundation following disagreements regarding the images.
UNILAD has reached out to the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation for comment.