Cooper Hefner Defends Late Father Hugh Hefner Ahead of 'Secrets of Playboy' Series

Cooper Hefner is defending his late father, Hugh Hefner, before the premiere of the new docuseries Secrets of Playboy.

The Playboy founder’s cultural impact and complicated legacy is explored in the new show, which features interviews with Hugh‘s former associates and ex-girlfriends.

Click inside to find out what Cooper said…

“Some may not approve of the life my Dad chose, but my father was not a liar,” Cooper wrote on Twitter. “However unconventional, he was sincere in his approach and lived honestly. He was generous in nature and cared deeply for people. These salacious stories are a case study of regret becoming revenge.”

In a clip from the show, Holly Madison called the environment at the Playboy Mansion “cult-like.”

““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,” she said. “You started to feel like, ‘Oh, he’s not what they say in the media — he’s just a nice man.’”

She recalled keeping her waitressing job when she initially moved into the mansion, but alleged that her ex didn’t want her to spend that much time outside the house.

“He said it made him jealous, and he would appreciate it if I quit my job,” she explained. “So, instead, we were given $1,000 a week as an allowance.”

Bridget Marquardt and Sondra Theodore also appear in the series.

Secrets of Playboy premieres on A&E Monday, January 24, at 9 p.m. ET.