- Sondra Theodore claimed that
Hugh Hefner groomed her,Entertainment Tonight reports. - Theodore claimed that Hefner convinced her to bring other women into their bedroom for five years.
A former girlfriend of Hugh Hefner claimed the Playboy mogul groomed her as a young adult in a new docuseries.
According to an exclusive report by Entertainment Tonight's Liz Calvario and Lauren Zima, Sondra Theodore was among the women to share their experiences with Hefner ahead of the A&E docuseries "
Entertainment Tonight reported that Theodore said she met Hefner — then 50 — at a party and he chose her to be his girlfriend. Theodore, who was 19 at the time, claimed that he groomed her into bringing other women into their bed for five years, according to the outlet.
"He had this way of making everything go away and questioning yourself … He said, 'Do you think that they can just stay in my house and not sleep with me?' And that was, Whoa!" Theodore said, according to Entertainment Tonight.
"Would you have dinner guests and expect that of them? No. It was just so cold and callous and not the man that I've fallen in love with. I didn't know who this man was," Theodore continued.
According to Entertainment Tonight, Theodore said she was "reeled" back to Hefner due to his "charm" and "words."
"He kept painting this fairy tale to me, and making me question what I've seen. He had a way of twisting my world really badly," Theodore said.
Theodore also recalled the moment of realization wasn't necessarily caused by what he said, but "how he said it."
"It was like cold water being splashed in my face, and once my eyes were open, there was no going back. I started questioning things and remembering things and I was like, 'My god, I was 19! How dare he have used the love I had for him -- because I had fallen in love with him -- against me like he did for his benefit. And why I didn't come out -- I mean, my parents, my family, my children -- it wasn't the right time," Theodore said, according to the outlet.
She added that the #MeToo Movement helped create a space to share such accusations, adding that "we tried for years to come out with our story and we were blocked."
Representatives for Playboy did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
A Playboy spokesperson addressed the new accusations in a statement with Entertainment Tonight.
"Today's Playboy is not Hugh Hefner's Playboy. We trust and validate these women and their stories and we strongly support those individuals who have come forward to share their experiences. As a brand with sex positivity at its core, we believe safety, security, and accountability are paramount," the statement read. "The most important thing we can do right now is actively listen and learn from their experiences. We will never be afraid to confront the parts of our legacy as a company that do not reflect our values today. As an organization with a more than 80 percent female workforce, we are committed to our ongoing evolution as a company and to driving positive change for our communities."
The Playboy founder, who was married to Crystal Hefner, died in September 2017 of natural causes at age 91.
Other women have spoken out against Hefner ahead of the docuseries, including his former girlfriend Holly Madison. Hefner and Madison dated from 2001 to 2008.
Madison claimed in December 2021 that Hefner took and distributed non-consensual, sexually-explicit photos of her and others. She likened living in the