Secrets of Playboy (2021) documents the lived experiences of Playboy playmates, the Playboy Bunnies, and employees of the Playboy empire, and the abuse they went through at the hands of its founder Hugh Hefner.

Award-winning filmmaker Alexandra Dean joins us to discuss the making of this 10-part series currently streaming on A&E, and what it was like to uncover the abuses that occurred at Playboy.

She explains how Hugh Hefner broke women and was able to build up a persona of sexual liberation while creating a culture of abuse. Through the series she also explores why it was so difficult for old playmates to talk about what had happened behind closed doors at the mansion.

“Hugh Hefner seemed to block that darker side of himself when he was outside of the bedroom. He completely inhabited the much more progressive person that people truly loved, but he had secrets which unleashed a lot of damage.” – Alexandra Dean

Time Stamps:

00:00 – The trailer for Secrets of Playboy.04:01 – What the series is all about. 07:14 – How Alexandra Dean discovered the dark side of Playboy. 08:13 – Why she decided to turn the documentary into a docuseries. 09:11 – The persona Hugh Hefner built in American culture. 12:55 – What people will find out watching this docuseries and the abuses revealed. 16:20 – How Hefner promoted women’s sexuality but yet manipulated his ‘girlfriends’. 20:33 – The type of person that was brought into the Playboy world. 22:19 – How difficult it was for the old playmates to talk about their past experiences. 24:20 – What Alexandra learned by going through old documents and footage. 26:11 – What it was like for Jennifer Saginor to grow up in the Playboy mansion. 27:24 – How the employees at Playboy reacted to what happened at the mansion. 32:02 – Why Alexandra was so interested in the Playboy world. 36:44 – The allegations against Bill Cosby during his time at the mansion. 40:30 – The ways women blame themselves for their abuse. 44:56 – The victims that have come forward since the docuseries has been aired. 45:35 – The future projects Alexandra is now working on. 47:04 – Clip from Secrets of Playboy that shows the drug use at the Playboy mansion.

Resources:

Secrets of Playboy (2021) Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (2017) This is Paris (2020) MovieMaker Magazine Innersound Audio Alamo Pictures

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Bonus Episode: 'Not Just Another Protest'

NPR

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