Holly Madison Accuses Hef of 'Profiting Off' Women 'Acting Stupid'

Holly Madison has accused Hugh Hefner of "profiting off" of women "acting stupid" on the latest episode of Girls Next Level.

The Girls Next Door alum, 42, called out the late Playboy founder and editor in chief while recalling how he treated fellow E! co-star Kendra Wilkinson, 37, and former Playmate of the Month Destiny Davis, also 37.

"There's a scene where Hef calls Kendra and Destiny 'dumb and dumber,' and I don't know how I feel about that," Madison told co-host and Girls Next Door alum Bridget Marquardt.

Marquardt, 48, said that while she didn't "want to take things too literally or too seriously," she claimed the show tried to "play Destiny and Kendra both as dumb and dumber."

"It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth," Madison continued. "Because I feel like he encourages and profits off of women acting stupid and infantilizing women, but he's also gonna like make a joke about it at their expense."

Madison and Hefner, who had a 54-year age gap, dated from 2001 to 2008. While she was the publisher's main girlfriend, Wilkinson and Marquardt were also his girlfriends.

Madison remembered one occasion when she overheard Hefner poking fun at Wilkinson to late Girls Next Door producer Kevin Burns.

The mom of two—who shares kids Rainbow and Forest with ex-husband Pasquale Rotella—said the pair were discussing a mark on a Henri Matisse drawing that John Lennon allegedly made by putting a cigarette out on it while visiting the Playboy Mansion in the 1970s.

"One of them, I forget who said what, but one of them said, 'Oh I was gonna tell Kendra that story but then you'd have to tell her who Matisse is. Snicker, snicker, snicker," Madison said. "And the other one goes, 'No, first you'd have to tell her who John Lennon is.' And then they were both, like, bowled over laughing."

Madison explained, "I think Hef thinks a woman acting stupid and acting helpless is cute. And that's how a woman should be. Like I think he prefers that, encourages it, profits off of it, exploits it, but he's also gonna make fun of somebody for that, and I don't think that's cool."

"Yeah I think you're right about that, he thinks it's cute," Marquardt agreed.

Madison went on to say that it was "gross," before noting she was "disgusted" with herself for "putting up with" instances like this for so long.

Girls Next Level premiered in August 2022, and Madison and Marquardt have been revealing behind-the-scenes details about their time at the Playboy Mansion since then.

Recently, Madison claimed Hefner often made fun of people's "itty-bitty" houses while driving in neighborhoods surrounding his home. She reflected on his remarks while they were headed to a Los Angeles Lakers game.

"We would pass by some residential houses and every single time we would go, Hef would look out the window and be like, 'Itty-bitty houses, for itty-bitty people.' He said that every time."

Marquardt noted, however, that they were just "regular houses for regular people."

"Not itty-bitty at all," she said.

Girls Next Level airs new episodes weekly on Mondays.