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Former Playboy Bunny Holly Madison is opening up about the "hidden truths" of Playboy.
Hugh Hefner’s magazine empire is being explored in a 10-part A&E docuseries airing in early 2022, the network announced to Fox News on Monday in a press release.
The special will feature new interviews with former Director of Playmate Promotions Miki Garcia, Hefner’s personal valet Stefan Tetenbaum, Bunny Mother PJ Masten, Playboy Mansion West resident Jennifer Saginor, numerous members of Hefner’s staff and inner circle, including his personal bodyguard and butler, as well as some of his past girlfriends including Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Sondra Theodore, among others.
Hefner passed away in 2017 at age 91.
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"I didn’t realize that getting into the Playboy world was a dangerous choice," Madison, 41, revealed in the show’s trailer.
"He didn’t want people to know what was really going on," chimed Saginor.
"It was a beautiful world – it looked that way – but it was really ugly," said one figure.
"There was a side of Playboy that nobody wants to talk about," added Masten in the clip.
Elaine Frontain Bryant, Executive Vice President and Head of Programming for A&E, promised that the docuseries will "lift the veil" on the "long-hidden stories" of Playboy.
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Holly Madison, Hugh Hefner and Bridget Marquardt during Hugh Hefner's 81st Birthday Weekend. (Photo by Denise Truscello/WireImage/Getty Images)
"The fantasy world of Playboy has been shrouded in secrecy for decades and we are proud to lift the veil on these long-hidden stories," she wrote in the press release. "Breaking down barriers and exposing the truth, ‘Secrets of Playboy’ is a masterful example of brave storytelling that takes an unflinching look at the personal affects of Hugh Hefner’s empire, while also exploring his legacy's larger influence on our society and modern-day views of sexuality."
According to the announcement insiders, along with colleagues, executives and employees were ready to share their "full story" on "what life at Playboy was truly like."
"Across 10 hours, ‘Secrets of Playboy’ examines the Playboy empire that was both a beacon of progress and a gateway into a much darker world," it noted.
In 1953, a time when states could legally ban contraceptives and the word "pregnant" was not allowed on "I Love Lucy," Hefner published the first issue of Playboy, featuring naked photos of Marilyn Monroe and an editorial promise of "humor, sophistication and spice." Within a year, circulation neared 200,000. Within five years, it had topped 1 million.
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Holly Madison has detailed her experience with Playboy. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
By the 1970s, Playboy magazine had more than 7 million readers and had inspired raunchier variations, such as Penthouse and Hustler. It would be competition and the internet that eventually reduced circulation to less than 3 million by the 21st century.
When asked by The New York Times in 1992 of what he was proudest, Hefner responded: "That I changed attitudes toward sex. That nice people can live together now. That I decontaminated the notion of premarital sex. That gives me great satisfaction."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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