News | Entertainment
23 Jan 2026 19:02
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
     23 Jan: Oscars 2026: Sinners break record with nominations, Jacob Elordi and Rose Byrne receive nods
     23 Jan: Amanda Seyfried thinks winning an Oscar "isn't necessary" for career success
     23 Jan: Karol G and Feid have reportedly split
     23 Jan: Summer House stars Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula have split
     23 Jan: Emeli Sande and her fiancee Yoana Karemova have split
     23 Jan: Colleen Hoover is cancer-free
     23 Jan: Nicole Kidman reportedly feels "refreshed and optimistic" as her divorce from Keith Urban is behind her
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    All Blacks prop Tamaiti Williams denies player power was behind the early exit of coach Scott Robertson More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    An expectation the official cash rate will be held steady as inflation is higher than expected More...



     Today's News

    Business:
    An expectation the official cash rate will be held steady as inflation is higher than expected 18:57

    Politics:
    Gloriavale's condemned private school is remaining open for the time being 18:37

    Environment:
    What is a landslide, how do they happen and where are they most common? 18:17

    Rugby:
    All Blacks prop Tamaiti Williams denies player power was behind the early exit of coach Scott Robertson 18:07

    Soccer:
    To football, and South Island United have claimed their first win in the Oceania Pro League 18:07

    Law and Order:
    Police want to hear from anyone who may have seen a 62-year-old man reported missing from the Invercargill area - last seen two weeks ago 17:27

    Tennis:
    Belarusian world number one Aryna Sabalenka's led the charge into the fourth round at the Australian Open 17:07

    Environment:
    Heavy rain is still causing disruption in parts of the North Island 16:57

    Rugby:
    All Blacks prop Tamaiti Williams has dismissed any suggestions of player power being behind the early exit of New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson 16:17

    International:
    Donald Trump is obsessed with Greenland, but now his comments point to the 'entire Arctic' 16:07


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd