Former Playboy model Holly Madison blasts Hollywood as dark place teeming with ‘leeches'

Fox News

04-05-2025

Holly Madison, a former Playboy model and one of Hugh Hefner's longtime girlfriends, left the Playboy Mansion in 2008. After telling her story over the years, she's certain about one thing – Hollywood can be an evil place.
"There's definitely a dark underbelly," the 45-year-old told Fox News Digital. "There's kind of an energy in Hollywood that I felt ever since I moved here. There's this energy of when you're that young woman who steps off the bus from the Midwest or wherever you're from.
"There are leeches looking to take advantage of and destroy you and use you everywhere," the mother of two added.
"And I'm not just talking about rich, powerful people. I'm talking about pimps on the street. I'm talking about people trying to bait and switch and get girls involved in sex trafficking. … It's really everywhere here. I saw it firsthand when I moved here at 19."
On Monday, Madison is kicking off season 3 of Investigation Discovery's (ID) true crime series, "The Playboy Murders," which explores high-profile tragedies and crimes associated with the iconic magazine brand.
Looking back, Madison said she felt Hollywood's darkness "right away."
WATCH: FORMER PLAYBOY MODEL DETAILS THE 'DARK UNDERBELLY' OF HOLLYWOOD
"It's almost ironic because I felt like Playboy, when I moved into the mansion, felt kind of safe in a way, even though there were all these things going on that I hated and didn't like," said Madison.
"It felt like almost the sanitized corporate version of sexuality. But it felt a lot safer to me to be living in this big, guarded house than to be out driving around in my car that's ready to break down, struggling to make ends meet and people approaching you on the street."
"I thought I was going to end up like the Black Dahlia or something," Madison remarked, referring to one of LA's most notorious murder cases. "I thought Playboy was my safe haven."
Madison was 21 when she moved into the Playboy Mansion. She made her exit at age 29 after wrapping "The Girls Next Door," a reality TV series about Hefner's multiple girlfriends. In 2016, she wrote a memoir, "Down the Rabbit Hole," alleging years of verbal and emotional abuse.
Looking back at her experience, Madison would advise any hopeful model making her way to Hollywood for a big break to "keep your circle of friends" close.
"Hopefully, they can give you some level-headed advice or let you know if something seems to be getting a little out of control," she advised. "And do your research. [Dive] in on the downsides of every different industry."
"I remember being 18 and 19 and thinking I was such a badass and that I could just take on the world and that I could have sex like a man and have no emotional attachment," she reflected.
"But it's really not like that. Doing things like that carries a lot of emotional weight. I think looking into people's stories who are honest about all the sides of the industry is a really good thing to do. And look at some of the cautionary tales before you just dive in."
Madison never crossed paths with Kimberly Fattorini, a Playboy casting associate and part-time model. Fattorini's 2017 death is the subject of the season's first episode.
"The story came to my attention because several of her friends were messaging me on Instagram after season 2 of 'The Playboy Murders' aired, and they're like, 'Can you please cover Kimmy's story?'" said Madison.
"Everything about her story just looks so familiar to me. … It was really scary to me because I feel like I've been in many situations where you're just out with friends, and there are guys who don't have people's best interests in mind."
According to the episode, Fattorini died from ingesting a lethal cocktail of alcohol, cocaine and the date rape drug gamma hydroxybutyrate, or "GHB." She was 30 years old.
According to the episode, a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Fattorini's parents against former NFL linebacker Shawne Merriman, promoter Eli Wehbe and model Monica Maass is pending. It noted that Merriman, Wehbe and Maass declined to discuss Fattorini's death for the series. They've previously denied accusations that were connected to Fattorini's death.
"[It was] determined there wasn't enough evidence for a criminal trial, but there are text messages that seem to indicate she knew somebody had drugged her drink," said Madison. "It seemed like there was a lot of negligence and people around her who should have helped her and didn't.
"It's just a really scary feeling to look at a case like this and feel like this could have been me or one of my friends when we were out partying and just having fun, [being] normal young people," she said. "I hope her family can get some answers and closure on that."
When asked if Playboy should have stepped in at the time and pushed for answers, Madison admitted it was complicated.
"Playboy was such a huge company with so many people working for it," she explained. "That's why we've been able to find three seasons' worth of cases. There were Playboy Clubs all over the country with so many women working as Bunnies. I think it's impossible for one company to really … babysit the lives of everybody who's ever worked for them, especially if something happened while the person wasn't on the job.
"I don't think it's so much Playboy's responsibility, but somebody needs to be held accountable for sure," she added.
Madison noted that when you're part of a "high-stakes environment," there are plenty of risks to face. That's why it's crucial, she said, for aspiring models to keep a close circle of friends who aren't from Hollywood.
"You're going into Playboy and there's so much potentially to be gained," she said. "There's fame, there's money, there's opportunities. And when you are the person who gets those opportunities, there can be a lot of jealousy, a lot of possessiveness. It's living life in the fast lane.
"When you're doing that, more extreme things can happen," she said. "Even though a lot of people can have a positive experience in that setting, a lot of crazy things can happen too."
Today, Madison calls Las Vegas home. She has credited the series with helping her connect with other women from her Playboy past who've faced their own struggles in Hollywood.
"It was healing to share my story," she said. "I felt like when I [went] out, just based on the TV show that I was on, people thought I had this magical relationship, and they expected only positive things. I would only say positive things at first, just because I thought it was the nice thing to do. But it started to feel like I was living a lie.
"So just getting that off my chest and being able to be truthful about my experience is so healing for me. … To see other people who went through similar things as me, to be able to feel empowered enough to come out and tell the truth. … It feels good."
"The Playboy Murders" airs Mondays at 9 p.m.