Holly Madison compares ex Hugh Hefner's Playboy mansion to a ‘cult' like ‘scientology'
Holly Madison, the former 'The Girls Next Door' star and ex-girlfriend of Hugh Hefner, is now hosting the reality series 'The Playboy Murders' (returning for Season 3 on Monday, May 5 at 9 p.m. on ID and streaming on Max).
'I feel like there was kind of a cult mentality with a lot of the people who surrounded Hef,' Madison, 45, exclusively told The Post.
Playboy mogul Hefner, who died in 2017 at age 91, dated Madison from 2001 to 2008, when she was in her 20s, and he was in his 70s.
10 Holly Madison in 'The Playboy Murders.'
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10 Holly Madison, Hugh Hefner, Bridget Marquardt, Kendra Wilkinson in 2005.
©E! Network/Courtesy Everett Collection
10 Holly Madison talking to the New York Post in April 2025.
NY Post
Madison – who lived in the Playboy mansion during that time – recalled that everyone looked at Hefner 'as not human, and infallible.'
She added, 'You can't even say – not even something bad, but you can even say something bad-adjacent about him without being like, excommunicated.'
Madison compared the Playboy world's attitude about Hefner to Scientology.
'In Scientology, they call it a suppressive person when someone goes against the church. And I kind of felt like I was treated that way,' explained Madison, who also hosts the 'Girls Next Level' podcast.
10 Holly Madison and Hugh Hefner in 2005.
WireImage
10 Hugh Hefner poses with Kendra Wilkinson (L) Bridget Marquardt and Holly Madison (R) before a screening of Bonnie and Clyde at the Playboy Mansion June 18, 2004 in Los Angeles.
Getty Images
'If I would even say something after I moved out, something as simple as, 'oh, no, I'm happier now.' That was bad,' she warned. 'So, I do feel like there's definitely a cult mentality with some people. You look at some of the signs of what makes a cult, and I could definitely apply them to the Playboy world.'
Season 3 of 'The Playboy Murders' covers various deaths, murders, and near-misses with crime that people in the Playboy world had. For instance, the first episode looks at the death of Playboy casting assistant Kimberly Fattorini, who died after a night out, leaving unanswered questions. Another episode covers Playboy Bunny Adrienne Pollack's 1973 death.
Because Madison lived in the Playboy world and knew some of the people covered in 'The Playboy Murders,' she's not a TV host with distance from the subject.
10 Holly Madison in 'The Playboy Murders.'
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10 Hugh Hefner and girlfriend playboy model Holly Madison hug during a birthday party at Joya restaurant on September 25, 2002 in Beverly Hills, California.
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'It's definitely emotionally heavy for sure,' said Madison, who also wrote the book, 'Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny.'
For 'The Playboy Murders,' she said, 'I just try and focus on what I know about the women through the research, through the people who've come forward to speak…It's horribly tragic that these stories have to be told anyway. Since they have to be told, I try and do it the best way possible and try to honor her memory as much as I can.'
Madison feels like a misconception that the public have about women like her is that they're 'one dimensional' or use their 'sexuality or looks to trick people.'
10 Playboy bunny Sheila Levell, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and Playboy bunny Holly Madison perform a scene during the filming of a commercial for 'X Games IX' at the Playboy Mansion May 6, 2003 in Holmby Hills, California.
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10 Holly Madison in 'The Playboy Murders.'
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'There's always like the gold digger stereotype, or when usually those women are at the lower end of the power imbalance,' she explained.
Because of this, Madison has made it her goal to highlight the story of a Playboy woman whose life ended tragically on a deeper level. 'I like to try and focus on what was this woman pursuing? What were her dreams? Where did she come from? What were your insecurities growing up?' she told the Post. 'Everything that's relatable.'
Despite her rough Playboy past, Madison doesn't have any regrets.
10 Holly Madison and Hugh Hefner in 2004, at the wedding of Film director Charlie Matthau, son of Carol and Walter Matthau, and Ashley Lauren Anderson a former principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre.
FilmMagic
'I like where I ended up,' she mused. 'I mean, it's so easy to look back and say, 'well, I was clearly in over my head here. Or, I made a bad decision there. Or everything would have been neater and easier and I would have arrived at this place quicker if I would've done this.''
'But you never know that. Life is meant to be experienced and you're here to learn,' she went on. 'I don't think any of us come here for an easy life with no trouble at all – because that doesn't happen to anybody.'
Madison welcomed daughter Rainbow, 12, and son Forest 9, with her ex-husband Pasquale Rotella, who she divorced in 2019.
Now, her life is simply 'amazing.' She quipped: 'I'm keeping super busy with the podcast and the TV shows, so everything's really rewarding.'
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