<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sondra Theodore claimed that <keyword id="12691072" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hugh-hefner" source="Orion">Hugh Hefner</keyword> groomed her, <keyword id="11896019" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="entertainment" source="Orion">Entertainment</keyword> Tonight reports.</li><li>Theodore claimed that Hefner convinced her to bring other women into their bedroom for five years.</li></ul><a href="https://www.insider.com/hugh-hefner-wives-girlfriends-list-2017-9">A former girlfriend of Hugh Hefner</a> claimed the Playboy mogul groomed her as a young adult in a new docuseries. According to an exclusive report by <a href="https://www.etonline.com/hugh-hefners-former-girlfriend-sondra-theodore-claims-she-was-groomed-by-playboy-mogul-at-age-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Entertainment Tonight's Liz Calvario and Lauren Zima</a>, Sondra Theodore was among the women to share their experiences with Hefner ahead of the A&amp;E docuseries "<keyword id="12691073" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="secrets-of-playboy" source="Orion">Secrets of Playboy</keyword>" slated to premiere on January 24. 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.<div type="image" title="Model Sondra Theodore and publisher Hugh Hefner attend 10th Annual NAACP Image Awards on April 24, 1977." height="2250" width="3000" msid="89065622" hostid="261"></div>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, <a href="https://www.insider.com/hugh-hefners-31-year-old-wife-crystal-hefner-life-details-inheritance-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who was married to Crystal Hefner</a>, <a href="https://www.insider.com/hugh-hefner-dead-playboy-magazine-2017-9#:~:text=Playboy%20magazine%20founder%20Hugh%20Hefner%20has%20died%2C%20Playboy%20Enterprises%20confirmed,surrounded%20by%20friends%20and%20family." target="_blank" rel="noopener">died in September 2017</a> of natural causes at age 91.<a href="https://www.insider.com/playboy-mansion-hugh-hefner-quaaludes-drugs-secrets-of-playboy-2021-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Other women</a> have spoken out against Hefner ahead of the docuseries, including his former girlfriend Holly Madison. Hefner and Madison dated <a href="https://www.insider.com/holly-madison-hugh-hefner-secrets-of-playboy-series-2022-1">from 2001 to 2008. </a>Madison claimed in December 2021 that Hefner <a href="https://www.insider.com/holly-madison-hugh-hefner-nude-pictures-power-podcast-playboy-2021-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">took and distributed non-consensual, sexually-explicit photos of her</a> and others. She likened living in the <keyword id="12019329" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="playboy-mansion" source="Orion">Playboy mansion</keyword> to <a href="https://www.insider.com/holly-madison-hugh-hefner-secrets-of-playboy-series-2022-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">being in a cult</a> in a "Secrets of Playboy" clip.

Hugh Hefner's ex-girlfriend Sondra Theodore claims she was groomed by him at age 19

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A former employee of <keyword id="12691072" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hugh-hefner" source="Orion">Hugh Hefner</keyword>'s said the drug use at the <keyword id="12019329" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="playboy-mansion" source="Orion">Playboy mansion</keyword> was a "necessary evil."</li><li>Hefner's ex-assistant said the drug of choice was Quaaludes, which they called "leg spreaders."</li></ul>A former employee of <a href="https://www.insider.com/hugh-hefner-things-you-didnt-know-2017-9">Hugh Hefner</a>'s said rampant drug use at the Playboy Mansion was a "necessary evil." Lisa Loving Barrett worked as Hefner's assistant at the Los Angeles mansion from 1977 to 1989. In a new clip from the upcoming A&amp;E docuseries "<keyword id="12691073" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="secrets-of-playboy" source="Orion">Secrets of Playboy</keyword>," Barrett said people at the mansion referred to Quaaludes — the brand name for a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33428487">prescription sedative that became a popular recreational drug</a> during the 1970s and '80s — as "leg spreaders," due to the drug's ability to make some users feel relaxed, and others <a href="https://www.insider.com/bill-cosby-andrea-constand-trial-verdict-pills-sex-quaaludes-benadryl-2017-6">sleepy and sedated</a>."That is what the whole point of them was. They were a necessary evil, if you will, to the partying," Barrett said. The ex-Playboy staffer revealed in the clip that she, as well as other employees and Hefner, had prescriptions in their names for Quaaludes. "That enabled certainly four, and sometimes five, different prescriptions for the same medication, to feed the [Playboy] machine," Barrett said in the interview. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bExanpwH48A" frameborder="0"></iframe>Former Playmate (and Hefner's ex-girlfriend) Sondra Theodore agreed that Quaaludes were a big part of life at the mansion. "Hef pretended he wasn't involved in any hard drug use at the mansion, but that was just a lie," Theodore said in the same clip. "Quaaludes, down the line, were used for sex." According to Theodore, the heightened sensory experience that Quaaludes gave users made them an appealing drug to take before sex. But if users took more than a half a pill, she said, they could pass out."They were such a seduction, and the men knew this, that they could get girls to do just about anything they wanted if they gave them a Quaalude," Theodore said. <div type="image" title="Holly Madison, Hugh Hefner and Bridget Marquardt" height="1828" width="2438" msid="88195611" hostid="261"></div>In another clip from the upcoming series, former reality star Holly Madison, who dated Hefner for seven years, revealed that Hefner once <a href="https://www.insider.com/holly-madison-haircut-hugh-hefner-relationship-photos-secrets-of-playboy-2021-12">"flipped out" on her after she got a short haircut</a>, and called her "old, hard, and cheap.""Secrets of Playboy" premieres January 24 on A&amp;E.

Hugh Hefner's former employee says rampant drug use at the Playboy mansion was a 'necessary evil'

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/513a3a566bb3f7577b000004-2106-1579/holly-madison-1.jpg?maxX=400" border="0" alt="holly madison" width="400" /></div>David Becker/Getty Images</div>Former <keyword id="21880" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Playboy">Playboy</keyword> model and reality television star Holly Madison wanted to be creative when she named her baby daughter. 
The name she settled on?
Rainbow Aurora. 
“I wanted to give my daughter a unique name,” the former Girls Next Door star <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/395762/holly-madison-reveals-newborn-baby-girl-s-name-find-out-the-star-s-colorful-choice">told E!</a> “Growing up, there was a girl in my school named Rainbow and I was so envious of that name. I thought it was so pretty and unique!” 
Rainbow's father is Holly's boyfriend, Pasquale Rotella. She used to date Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.

Holly Madison Just Gave Her Baby A Ridiculous Name

10 reality TV stars who wore multiple wedding dresses

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/59cd27ef351ccf89468b4c70-910/gettyimages-583629456.jpg" alt="Playboy bunny" data-mce-source="Carl Court / Getty Images" />Carl Court / Getty ImagesBunnies had to follow some pretty odd rules back in the 1960s.</div></div></div>Bunnies have been a staple of the Playboy brand since it <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111903461304576524283439162132" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">opened its first nightclub in 1960</a>.In the beginning, the bunnies were simply young women who worked as waitstaff in Playboy's clubs.From 1960 to 1986, the brand ran 40 nightclubs, <a href="http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-former-home-of-new-york-s-playboy-club" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to Atlas Obscura</a>, as well as some intermittent casinos in England and the Bahamas. Prospective bunnies had to audition in order to get the job.Since then, the term has expanded somewhat. It's even been applied to Hugh Hefner's girlfriends, who lived with him in the Playboy Mansion. Hefner ex-girlfriend Holly Madison's tell-all book is called "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Down-Rabbit-Hole-Adventures-Cautionary/dp/0062372114" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny</a>." Make no mistake, though - models who appear in Playboy magazine itself are "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/celebrity-who-started-at-playboy-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">playmates</a>," not bunnies.With that in mind, here's a look into the controversial history of the bunnies:

Hugh Heftner hired the first Playboy bunny nearly 60 years ago - here's how the controversial job of Playboy's iconic women has changed

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/59ccf420351ccf21008b5477-2000/gettyimages-115052112.jpg" alt="hugh hefner playboy bunnies" data-mce-source="Dan Kitwood/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Playboy founder Hugh Hefner arrives at Stansted Airport on June 2, 2011 in Stansted, England. Mr Hefner is back in the UK to mark the launch of the new Playboy Club in Mayfair, which opens on June 4. The club's opening will welcome back the iconic Playboy Bunny to London after a 30 year absence. Famous Bunnies have included Debbie Harry and Lauren Hutton." data-link="http://www.gettyimages.com/license/115052112" /><a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/license/115052112">Dan Kitwood/Getty Images</a>Playboy founder Hugh Hefner insisted showing off his bunnies was beautiful, not sexist.</div></div></div>Iconic for its groundbreaking nude centerfolds, critics have lambasted Playboy for objectifying women since Hugh Hefner printed the magazine's first issue in <a href="http://www.playboyenterprises.com/about/history/">1953</a>.Hefner <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hugh-hefner-dead-playboy-magazine-2017-9">died Wednesday</a> at age 91.Hailed as a visionary by those who appreciated his mindset, and derided by those who charged he peddled smut, Hefner was one of the 20th century's most polarizing figures.He described his magazine as a showcase for beauty, and fought his entire life for <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/hugh-hefner-playboy-gay-rights-advocate-673046">gay rights, integration</a>, and <a href="https://www.justice.gov/osg/brief/united-states-v-playboy-entertainment-group-merits">free speech</a>.In an <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1421585">interview with NPR in 2003</a>, Hefner responded to critics who called Playboy sexist, explaining that he saw the brand as a showcase for appreciating beauty:"What I wanted to create was a pinup phenomenon that was devoted to the girl next door. Beauty is everywhere - on the campus, in the office, living next door. That was the concept ... Nice girls like sex too - it's a natural part of life. Don't be ashamed of it. Part of the sexual revolution is bringing rationality to sexuality. Because when you don't embrace sexuality in a normal way, you get the twisted kinds, and the kinds that destroy lives."Some considered Hefner the <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hugh-hefner-dead-playboy-founder-sexual-trailblazer-was-91-708796">founder and leader of the sexual revolution</a> in the 1960s. Others accused him of profiting from misogyny."There is nothing revolutionary about men exploiting women for their own sexual gratification or financial gain," <a href="http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/hugh-hefner-sexist">Claire Heuchan wrote for Glamour magazine</a> after his death. "It has been happening for hundreds of years, and is called patriarchy."Hefner didn't shy away from his notorious appreciation for women's bodies, even <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/08/playboy-hugh-hefer-201008">admitting to Vanity Fair in 2010</a> that he actually did consider women "objects.""Feminists still oppose you for treating women as objects," John Heilpern said to Hefner in the dining room of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/playboy-mansion-photos-of-hugh-hefner-home-2017-9">Playboy Mansion</a>."They are objects!" he responded. "Playboy fought for what became women's issues, including birth control. We were the amicus curiae, friend of the court, in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/if-roe-v-wade-overturned-supreme-court-abortion-trump-2016-12">Roe v. Wade</a>, which gave women the right to choose. But the notion that women would not embrace their own sexuality is insane.""Some believe you have a prurient interest in them," Heilpern pressed."I certainly hope so!" Hefner responded.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/561d19aedd089560578b45ac-2400/ap090130018097.jpg" alt="Hugh Hefner, left, and girlfriend Barbi Benton, center, are served by N.Y. Playboy Club Bunny Cheri upon arrival at La Guardia aboard the Big Bunny, Heffners personal 5½ million dollar DC-9 jet, March 1970, New York." data-mce-source="AP" />APNY Playboy Club Bunny Cheri serves Hugh Hefner and girlfriend Barbi Benton drinks in March 1970.</div></div></div>Hefner was married to three women, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hugh-hefner-had-sex-with-thousands-of-women-2013-3">slept with thousands</a>, and had countless girlfriends - many of them Playboy Playmates who lived with him at the mansion.Holly Madison, who was Hefner's main girlfriend for years and gained fame on the E! show "The Girls Next Door", alleged in her <a href="http://www.hollymadison.com/product/down-the-rabbit-hole/">2015 tell-all memoir</a> that Hefner had strict rules for his girlfriends and <a href="http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/books/news/a42332/holly-madison-book-worst-things-about-hugh-hefner/">subjected them to sex rituals</a>.In 1963, feminist icon Gloria Steinem <a href="http://sites.dlib.nyu.edu/undercover/sites/dlib.nyu.edu.undercover/files/documents/uploads/editors/Show-A%20Bunny%27s%20Tale-Part%20One-May%201963.pdf">went undercover as a Playboy bunny</a> in one of Hefner's clubs in Manhattan. She revealed the women had to undergo STD testing before they could interact with men in the clubs, were underpaid, overworked, and frequently experienced unwanted sexual contact from the "guests."Her investigation did <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gloria-steinem-reflects-on-her-playboy-bunny-days/">improve working conditions</a> at The Playboy Club, and most shut down by the 1990s, though some still exist today.Hefner reportedly told Steinem in 1970 that feminism was "foolishness.""What Playboy doesn't know about women could fill a book," she told him, according to <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hugh-hefner-dead-playboy-founder-sexual-trailblazer-was-91-708796">The Hollywood Reporter</a>. "There are times when a woman reading a Playboy feels a little like a Jew reading a Nazi manual."Hefner saw Playboy as a place to embrace sexuality in a healthy way."If you don't encourage healthy sexual expression in public, you get unhealthy sexual expression in private," Hefner said in Playboy in 1974, according to <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/27/media/hugh-hefner/index.html">CNN</a>. "If you attempt to suppress sex in books, magazines, movies and even everyday conversation, you aren't helping to make sex more private, just more hidden. You're keeping sex in the dark. What we've tried to do is turn on the lights." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cooper-hefner-playboy-mansion-sold-2016-12">Hugh Hefner's son reveals what it was like growing up in the Playboy Mansion</a></h3> <div> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/y1bdNBli-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script> </div> </div>

How Hugh Hefner argued that Playboy wasn't sexist

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/playboy">Playboy's</a> best selling issue sold over 7 million copies and the magazine made $12 million in revenue that same year.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/hugh-hefner">Hugh Hefner's</a> empire became an iconic part of popular culture, but later struggled to keep up with new competitors, and failed to pivot online fast enough.</li><li>Today, Playboy is a shell of what it once was, but is attempting to rebrand itself to appeal to younger generations.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a> </li></ul>Following is a transcript of the video.Irene Kim: Playboy used to be everywhere. Its best-selling issue sold over 7 million copies. In the early 2000s, Playboy's logo could be found on everything from jewelry to tattoos, and Bunnies were all over movie screens and reality TV. But Hugh Hefner's gone, the original Playboy Clubs have closed, and magazine sales have shrunk to less than 4% of what they used to be. So, what happened?In 1953, former copywriter Hugh Hefner saw a demand for a gentleman's magazine. Recruiting 45 investors who cobbled together $8,000, a young Hef was ready to launch what would become Playboy. Originally, Hefner wanted to call it Stag Party, but was challenged by Stag Magazine, so a friend suggested the name Playboy, and it stuck. But Hefner himself came up with Playboy's now iconic logo. He thought a tuxedoed rabbit would be "cute, frisky, and sexy." With no office to work out of, Hef put the first issue of Playboy together in his apartment on the kitchen table. The cover and centerfold featured Marilyn Monroe. But Monroe never posed for Playboy. Hefner bought old photos a struggling Monroe had posed for under a pseudonym, having no idea they would eventually end up as a magazine feature. The star was never paid for her Playboy debut. Regardless, the first issue was released in December 1953. A huge success, the magazine sold out of all 70,000 copies at $0.50 apiece.Hefner immediately invested his profits back into Playboy, expanding his staff. Circulation grew quickly, partly because of the magazine's lack of competition. But not only was Playboy one of the first to publish colored photographs of nude women, its Playmate concept set it apart from the rest. Each issue featured a "Playmate of the month," starting with Hefner's then girlfriend and subscription-department employee Charlaine Karalus, aka Janet Pilgrim. Hefner described Playmates as women who could be "the new secretary at your office" or the "girl who sells you shirts and ties." In other words, a wholesome woman you could meet in real life, not a distant, professional model. The photo layouts were a seduction, with the Playmate slowly revealing more and more until being fully nude in the centerfold.By the end of the 1950s, the magazine was selling a million copies a month. And while it was a popular joke to claim that one only bought Playboy for the articles, the magazine did establish a reputation for literary excellence, publishing in-depth interviews with all sorts of cultural icons and excerpts from esteemed writers like James Baldwin. Even when its first true competitor, Penthouse, launched, Playboy stayed on top, with print sales peaking at 7.1 million copies of the November 1972 issue. Playboy made $12 million in profit that year. That's $73 million today. Playboy grew to be more than a magazine; it was a lifestyle. Hefner expanded Playboy Enterprises to include the Playboy Clubs, designed to embody the glamorous and luxurious lifestyle marketed by the magazine. 50,000 members joined the original Playboy Club in Chicago in its first year. Soon, there would be 23 Playboy Clubs around the world.Bobbie Walters: It was an incredible place to be. It was magical.Kim: That's Bobbie Walters. She worked as a Bunny at the Playboy Club in New York City and, later, Miami.Walters: In New York City, there were 100 girls there. There were six different floors. So you could enjoy a show, you could enjoy a gourmet dinner, or you could dance to disco music, or you could just go down into the Playmate bar and have a drink.Kim: As for what it was like to work as a Bunny... Walters: The training was one week long. Once we got to the Playboy Club and got on the floor, we learned how to do the Bunny Dip. Tape: OK, once again, let's see the Bunny Dip down just so.Walters: Which is an extremely ridiculous thing because you're standing on 6-inch heels, leaning backwards, serving liquor.Kim: Bunnies had to follow strict rules dictated in their Bunny Manuals.Walters: It told you all about the rules and regulations, how the costume was supposed to look.Kim: Bunnies also had a specific greeting for guests.Walters: So, you would walk up to the table slowly, and they would just be looking, "Oh, my God, there's my Bunny," and then you'd just approach a table and say, "Good evening, I'm your Bunny, Bobbie."Kim: And the Bunnies were what really drew people to the Clubs.Walters: You could get a scotch and soda anywhere, but you couldn't get a glimpse of a Playboy Bunny.Kim: But the 750,000 Playboy Club members and 60 million magazines sold yearly wouldn't last forever. Despite their early success, all the Playboy Clubs were closed down by 1986. They had been losing money for years. The changing social and political climate shifted public perception of the clubs. Rather than being daring, they were now seen as degrading to women. And the rise of 1980s video porn was giving the print magazine competition. As magazines like Stuff and Maxim entered the market, circulation continued to decline through the '90s. Playboy also made the fatal mistake of not moving online fast enough. As the internet boomed, online searches for Playboy would literally return ads for their competitors. Playboy tried to offset its losses by licensing out its trademarked logo. Billions of dollars' worth of merchandise with the bunny logo were sold. Playboy merchandise did particularly well in Asia, especially China, despite laws prohibiting the magazine from being sold there. But it wasn't enough. The high sales numbers only returned small licensing revenue for Playboy. Hefner tried to revive his empire with a venture into reality TV. In 2005, he signed up for an E! reality show that followed his life with his then three girlfriends: Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt, and Kendra Wilkinson. "The Girls Next Door" aired in over 150 countries worldwide and ran for six seasons. It made Hef and Playboy a visible part of early 2000s pop culture. Despite its decline, Playboy helped launch successful careers for the likes of Pamela Anderson and Anna Nicole Smith, while stars like Naomi Campbell and Madonna graced its cover. President Donald Trump is particularly proud of his Playboy feature. But by the time the company finally placed its full archives online, it was too late. When Hefner passed away in 2017, Playboy seemed directionless, and investors had been losing money for decades. With circulation at an all-time low and reported losses of $7 million a year, the magazine was scaled back to release only quarterly. But it isn't over for Playboy just yet. In September 2018, the Playboy Club in New York City reopened, complete with waitresses dressed as bunnies, and the magazine is rebranding to appeal to a younger generation. The 2019 summer issue featured not models or actresses, but instead, three activists. Women also now play a significant role behind the camera. It's a clear contrast to Playboy's origins, when women had very little autonomy. Whether Playboy's efforts to be more empowering can save the magazine remains to be seen. A lot has changed since Hugh Hefner started Playboy, and it's unclear whether it'll survive. But there's always the logo, and that's a billion-dollar legacy.

Hugh Hefner's Playboy empire became an iconic part of pop culture, but struggled to keep up. Here's what led to the company's rise and fall.

<table class="image-container float_right" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/514c5d1a69beddf603000015-400-300/john-mayer-2.jpg" border="0" alt="john mayer" /></div><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Mayer_in_Cleveland.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr></table>
<ul>
<li>Newly single <keyword id="14401" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="John-Mayer">John Mayer</keyword> <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2013/03/john-mayer-tour.html" target="_blank">announced his first tour in three years</a> after recovering from vocal cord surgery, that left him silent for months. "I probably had contiguously three, maybe four months of not saying a word," <a href="http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1554197/john-mayer-announces-first-tour-in-3-years" target="_blank">says Mayer</a>, revealing that he used an iPad to communicate. Beginning in July, Mayer will play more than 40 shows in four countries before wrapping things up at the Hollywood Bowl in October. “American Idol” winner Phillip Phillips will open on most dates, with other acts to be announced.</li>
<li>After posting some cryptic messages, Emma Stone <a href="http://www.gossipcop.com/emma-stone-twitter-hacked-hacker-andrew-garfield-shailene-woodley-tweets/" target="_blank">revealed her Twitter was hacked</a>. “I have never tweeted. I’ve tweeted one time to Seth MacFarlane. I said, ‘Me too, oh boy.’ And then I’ve been hacked ever since, and they locked me out of my Twitter so I can’t access it because they changed my email and my password, so we are trying to figure out how to delete it.”</li>
<li>The New York state Legislature is <a href="http://www.deadline.com/2013/03/ny-state-tax-break-seems-tailored-for-tonight-shows-return-to-nyc/" target="_blank">dangling a major tax break in front of NBC</a> with the hope of bringing the "Tonight Show" to NYC.</li>
<li>The Wachowski siblings' "Cloud Atlas" <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cloud-atlas-leads-german-film-430368" target="_blank">leads German Film Academy nominations</a>.</li>
<li>A source tells PageSix of Lindsay Lohan's <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/lindsay_pre_rehab_plans_RvR57jgiQPcWEm6DwmAUtJ" target="_blank">pre-rehab plans</a>: "A week with Charlie Sheen in LA, then she wants to go to Brazil. I kid you not.”</li>
<li>Jimmy Fallon <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2297329/Drew-Barry-wears-multi-coloured-floral-trousers-leaves-apartment.html" target="_blank">wrote all over Drew Barrymore's face</a>.</li>
<li>Leonardo DiCaprio <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/south_beach_spin_bEbASfMtCv65beJ0vitXSP" target="_blank">is in Miami for the Ultra Music Festival</a> and naturally has been surrounded by women.</li>
<li>Playboy Playmate Holly Madison <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/399498/holly-madison-debuts-baby-rainbow-aurora-see-the-precious-pic" target="_blank">shows off her baby</a>, Rainbow Aurora, for the first time.</li>
<li>Amanda Bynes is <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2296977/Dazed-confused-Amanda-Bynes-looks-lost-tries-navigate-NYC-iPhone.html" target="_blank">still off her rocker</a>.</li>
</ul>

John Mayer Announces First Tour In 3 Years - Here's Today's Buzz

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5151ed5169beddf36e000000-1172-879/hugh-hefner-playboy-playmates-1.png?maxX=400&amp;maxY=300" border="0" alt="Hugh Hefner Playboy Playmates" width="400" height="300" /></div>Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty<keyword id="21881" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Hugh-Hefner">Hugh Hefner</keyword> has dated up to seven women at one time, as shown on his popular E! reality show "Girls Next Door."</div>Hugh Hefner, 86, is currently on his third wife, but that's nothing compared to the amount of women the <keyword id="21880" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Playboy">Playboy</keyword> founder has slept with throughout his lifetime.
“Over a thousand, I’m sure," Hefner <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/hugh-hefner-interview-0413" target="_blank">revealed to Esquire</a> of the number of women he's had sexual relations with. But it's not an exact number, as he says, "How could I possibly know?"
But Hefner's sexual escapades have nothing to do with him being unfaithful to his wives.
“There were chunks of my life when I was married, and when I was married I never cheated,” explains the publishing icon. “But I made up for it when I wasn’t married. You have to keep your hand in.”
Hefner was <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20110607104438/http://www.playboy.com/worldofplayboy/hmh/timeline/pre50s-content.html" target="_hplink">first married in 1949 to Northwestern University student Mildred Williams</a>, with whom he has two children, before divorcing in 1959.
40 years later, Hefner <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/03/us/hefner-weds-88-playmate.html?n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fH%2fHefner%2c%20Hugh&amp;gwh=3AD0CC85B547B9536095049F9E78122F" target="_hplink">said "I do" again to Playmate of the Year Kimberley Conrad,</a> whom he <a href="http://www.contactmusic.com/news/hefners-divorce-finalised-in-march_1131606" target="_hplink">separated from in 1998 and finally divorced in 2010</a>.
During the separation, Hefner <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/ent/celeb/articles/2010/08/02/20100802hugh-hefner-dishes-keeping-7-girlfriends-Viagra-use.html?nclick_check=1" target="_blank">dated up to seven women at once (with the help of Viagra)</a> and featured his relationship with Playboy Playmates Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson on the popular E! reality series "The Girls Next Door."
<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:300px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/50e6d7d3ecad04d71c000000-577-432/hugh-hefner-playboy.png" border="0" alt="hugh hefner playboy" width="300" /></div>Instagram @mermaidcrystalHugh Hefner, 86, married Crystal Harris, 26, last New Year's Eve.</div>On New Year's Eve, Hefner <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2255571/Crystal-Harris-weds-Hugh-Hefner-small-private-ceremony-Playboy-mansion.html" target="_blank">married Crystal Harris</a>, 60 years his junior, a year after the couple reconciled after <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2255571/Crystal-Harris-weds-Hugh-Hefner-small-private-ceremony-Playboy-mansion.html" target="_blank">she called off the wedding</a> days before the initial ceremony was set to take place.
“He believes in love,” 26-year-old Harris told Esquire. “Hef loves me more than anybody else in a relationship ever has. It took me time away to realize that. I think I realized that here is where I’m meant to be.”
Adds Hefner, "All our friends think it’s made in heaven. It’s only <keyword id="6360040" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="people">people</keyword> who don’t know us, who simply see us as stereotypes in terms of age and beauty… I just feel very, very fortunate to have found her at this stage in my life. I saved the best till last.”
<h2>Now Watch: The Overly-Attached Girlfriend Explains What It's Like Being A Wildly Popular Internet Meme </h2>
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