News | Entertainment
1 Mar 2026 2:54
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Holly Madison says the Playboy Mansion was like a "cult"

    The 'Girls Next Door' star dated Playboy founder Hugh Hefner - who died in 2017 aged 91 - from 2001 and 2008 and has revealed how "isolated from the outside world" she and her fellow Playboy Bunnies were.


    The 42-year-old model also claimed the girls were only allowed to leave the legendary Los Angeles pad for special reasons and were told not to invite friends over.

    In a preview of the upcoming A&E docuseries 'Secrets of Playboy', she

    spilled: "The reason I think the mansion was very cult-like, looking back on it, is because we were all kind of gaslit and expected to think of Hef as, like, this really good guy.

    "You started to feel like, 'Oh, he's not what they say in the media - he's just a nice man.'"

    The blonde bombshell added: "Another thing that reminds me of a cult is how it was so easy to get isolated from the outside world there.

    "You had a 9 o'clock curfew, you were encouraged to not have friends over.

    "You weren't really allowed to leave unless it was, like, a family holiday."

    'Secrets of Playboy' is a 10-part series and premieres on January 24.

    It will also feature an interview with former 'Bunny Mother' PJ Masten and promises to expose the "hidden truths" behind Hugh's empire.

    Holly recently claimed her Hugh was "literally pushed on top" of her on their first date.

    She initially agreed to go out with him when there was a "spot open"

    after one of his girlfriends left the Playboy Mansion, and although she wasn't expecting a "very traditional" first date, she thought she'd be given an introduction into life with the media mogul rather than being pushed into anything.

    She recalled: "I didn't really know what went on with them sexually. I figured something, and I was prepared for that. I wasn't prepared for what would eventually happen.

    "I wasn't necessarily expecting to have sex that night. I thought it would be more of a first date.

    "[I thought it] would be more of a type of thing where I saw what happened, saw what was going on, [and] if I wasn't comfortable with it, I wouldn't have to do anything."

    However, things moved far quicker than Holly expected and the 'Vegas Diaries' star was left "mortified and embarrassed" by the events of their first date.

    She recalled: "He was literally pushed on top of me. And after it happened, I was just mortified and embarrassed and it had way more of an emotional impact on me than I thought it would...

    "It wasn't that the idea of possibly having sex with him repelled me so much. It was more the group aspect that was really out of my comfort zone and just the feeling of like, 'Wow. That happened. Everybody knows it happened.'

    "All of a sudden it felt like everybody was going to know about me and I was horrified by it."

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     28 Feb: Justin Trudeau's son approves of his romance with Katy Perry
     28 Feb: Lupita Nyong'o has "over 50" uterine fibroids
     28 Feb: Hilary Duff has admitted she "intentionally" gatecrashed the premiere of her "childhood nemesis" Lindsay Lohan's movie Freaky Friday
     28 Feb: Christian Bale appears to have confirmed he will join the cast of Heat 2
     28 Feb: Barbra Streisand has paid tribute to Jennifer Aniston following the actress' recent birthday and her growing relationship with Jim Curtis
     27 Feb: Drew Barrymore travels down "memory lane" when looking at pictures of herself from her 1990s heyday
     27 Feb: Cruz Beckham's 21st birthday celebrations have gone on for a week
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    The Chiefs are refusing to underestimate a wounded Crusaders side ahead of tonight's Super Rugby grand final rematch in Hamilton More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    It's been revealed UK supermarket giant Tesco, declined the Finance Minister's invitation for a meeting to discuss the issues in our grocery sector More...



     Today's News

    International:
    Israel and US attack Iran live updates: Blasts heard in Tehran and explosions reported in cities across region 22:56

    Rugby:
    The Chiefs are refusing to underestimate a wounded Crusaders side ahead of tonight's Super Rugby grand final rematch in Hamilton 21:57

    Auckland:
    Four people have been injured - one seriously - when a van rolled in the Auckland suburb of Wiri 21:17

    Law and Order:
    The Armed Offenders Squad has been working in Auckland's Papakura today, after a man was shot this morning 18:57

    Rugby:
    The Blues are pointing to territory and preventing set piece penalties as keys to victory against the Brumbies tonight in Canberra 18:37

    International:
    Crown prince Reza Pahlavi on US military intervention in Iran and how a post Islamic Republic 'transition' would work 18:17

    Politics:
    Bill Clinton tells congressional committee he had 'no idea' about Jeffrey Epstein's crimes 18:07

    Soccer:
    Auckland FC attacking weapon Jesse Randall is stoked with how the club is tracking heading towards the final stretch of the A-League's regular season 18:07

    Boxing:
    Kiwi Carlos Ulberg will fight for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 327 in Miami on April 12 17:27

    Rugby:
    Crusaders utility back Leicester Fainga'anuku's comfortable being deployed in a third different role in as many weeks on his Super Rugby Pacific return 16:57


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd