Holly Madison is refusing to be silenced in her telling of her time working as a Playboy bunny and longtime girlfriend to Hugh Hefner. But Hefner’s widow is threatening to sue Madison for comments she made on her podcast about her and her marriage and eventual caregiver role to her deceased husband. Crystal’s lawyer accused Holly and co-host Bridget Marquardt and Marston Hefner of suggesting she kept Hefner “doped up” to take advantage of him financially. She reportedly sent a cease and desist warning the podcast hosts to not make similar statements moving forward or further legal action would be taken. But Madison says she won’t stay quiet.
Madison and Marquardt, also a former Playmate, insist they didn’t make such an implication, with Madison stating they were “obnoxiously careful” not to say anything defamatory, as reported by TMZ. Madison also says Crystal is out to try an intimidate them, and she stands by remarks made on the show.
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“I’m not backing down — there’s a thing I like to call ‘legal bullying,’ when people who think they’re richer than everybody else pay their attorneys to send cease and desists to people to shut them up,” Madison said on the show.
Madison dated, Hefner, publisher of the famed Playboy Magazine, from 2001 and 2008 while living at his Playboy Mansion in LA. During their relationship, she was considered his lead or No 1 girlfriend, as he had multiples. She’s since spoken out about abuse and trauma she says she experienced during their unconventional relationship.
Hefner died of natural causes in 2017. Madison has been open about not mourning the loss, noting the toxic nature of their time together. “When he passed away, everybody expected me to have some big reaction or post about it on social media, and it just felt weird. I didn’t have any emotional attachment to him anymore in any way,” she told PEOPLE exclusively in 2023.
She says the relationship was riddled with Hefner’s controlling nature, drugs, and sex, which she says ultimately led to body dysmorphia due to Hefner’s constant judgment. According to Better Health Channel, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a “mental illness characterized by constant worrying over a perceived or slight defect in appearance. Repetitive behaviours are performed in response to these concerns about appearance.”
