Latest news with #MoonliteBunnyRanch
The Irish Sun
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
I was lured to infamous Bunny Ranch brothel by Love Island style show…vile star Hof choked girls & forced us into sex
WITH their model looks and stunning figures the young women giggling around the swimming pool and partying with champagne looked like they were having the time of their lives. But this reality TV hit was no Love Island. Advertisement 26 Dennis Hof pictured with three of his employees Credit: getty 26 The girls at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch looked like they were having fun and hanging out Credit: getty 26 Air Force Amy was one of the stand out stars in the show Credit: Splash 26 Cathouse acted as a 'recruitment' poster for young wannabes Credit: Rex Features The gloss and glamour of Cathouse, which aired from 2005 to 2014, hid a dark reality and the pink-painted paradise in the sunshine was actually a legalised brothel in Nevada called For girls like Dolly Hart, who grew up watching Cathouse, the intoxicating picture seved as a recruitment ad. 'Around the time that I caught a glimpse of the show, I was probably 11, 12,' she says. 'The girls looked like they were having fun. "There was a camaraderie amongst them. It seemed like you could make friends there. I was thinking, when I grow up I'm going to go there.' Advertisement READ MORE IN DENNIS HOF In the six-part documentary, Secrets of Bunny Ranch, former employees reveal the truth behind glossy image promoted by publicity hungry owner, 'I saw the velvet couch, the pink 'I was having trouble making friends as a first generation little Mexican girl, getting bullied and being labelled the ugly duckling. 'I didn't come from a privileged background and I saw these girls making money on the show and thought, 'Let's go for it.' Advertisement Most read in The Sun "The Cathouse made it seem like it was the Playboy mansion with bunny playmates playfully jumping on each other and tickle fighting. But it was nothing like that. I created the notorious 'OnlyFans Playboy mansion' - I've made £39 MILLION in 2 years, it's better than being a waitress 26 Hof claimed he treated the girls fairly and was no 'pimp' Credit: Getty - Contributor 26 The brothel was based in Lyon County, one of the few counties in the USA which permits legalized prostitution Credit: getty Advertisement "He expected me to have a threesome with him and this other girl. I asked if I would be paid and he said no, it's my birthday. I refused.' Hof, born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1946, made good money selling time-shares before turning that business knowledge to buying and transforming The Bunny Ranch, taking prostitution out of the shadows and into the mainstream with his flair for publicity. TV and radio interviews led to the reality series Cathouse where everything at the brothel appeared to be professional and fun with the women treated fairly and respectfully by Hof, who the girls called 'Daddy.' 'I'm a businessman who supplies a place and an opportunity for ladies to work and we share the proceeds,' Hof liked to claim. 'The last thing I am is a pimp.' Advertisement Easy prey 26 Shelly Dushell, started working at the Bunny Ranch aged 30 after her house was destroyed by a tornado Credit: Crime+Investigation 26 Every Thursday evening prostitutes had an opportunity to buy new 'work clothes' from a salesman (Shelly pictured) Credit: getty 26 Shelly takes a cigarette break between clients Credit: Getty Shelly Dushell, who began working there at the age of 30 after her house was destroyed by a tornado and she had divorced her husband, has a very different view. Advertisement 'I saw the ugly side of Dennis but the world on Cathouse only saw the fun side of him because they didn't know the real Dennis. He was all about being violent.' After hearing Hof and one of his favourite girls at the ranch – known as Air Force Amy – talking about the brothel on TV, Shelly decided to apply. 'I sent an email with a picture of myself to the ranch and "I flew out and he picked me up at the airport and he told me that HBO was doing a show and he wanted me to be part of it. Advertisement 'He walked me in and there were cameramen filming there. Dennis took me out to the bungalow behind the building and wanted sex. He didn't want to wear a condom. I was absolutely horrified. Shelly Dushell "That was my first day at the ranch. I was afraid to tell Dennis no. No one cares if a prostitute gets raped. 'Dennis preyed upon the women that were the most easily victimised. I was afraid to not go along with what he wanted. "It was hard for me to resist Dennis in the first couple of years that I was there. Advertisement 'He liked that power and control over the girls and he was very violent when he had sex. He liked to slap and choke. It was hard to get him to stop.' Former Bunny Ranch cashier, Shonda, says: 'Dennis had a very active sex life with the working girls. "There were girls who would offer themselves to him and there were girls who didn't want to sleep with him but felt they had to. "He had a great presence on TV but behind closed doors, Dennis was a rattlesnake.' Advertisement 'Recruitment' ad for young girls 26 Air Force Amy looks through a box of tricks Credit: Getty 26 Air Force Amy, who features in the documentary, was a Cathouse star Credit: bridget bennett 26 Dolly Hart, revealed she grew up watching Cathouse wishing to go there Credit: Crime+Investigation 26 Ex-workers revealed Cathouse was a set up Credit: Crime+Investigation Advertisement A regular feature of the show saw the women happily running into the parlour whenever the bell rang, signifying a customer had arrived. There they would line up while he chose who he wanted. But their smiles hid their humiliation. This 'unscripted' TV series was very much not that. 'It wasn't a documentary. We were told what to do,' says Shelly, who claims she was paid $300 dollars for onscreen sex scenes and nothin for non sex scenes. 'The Cathouse show was set up. In the first scene I did they wanted the women to sit down with a bunch of clients, teaching them about good sex. Advertisement "But one of the men was not a client. I recognised him as Jesse Fillmer, a driver and bartender at the Ranch.' Jesse confirms: 'Everyone in the scene who was supposed to be a customer were actually friends of Dennis or people who worked at the Ranch. "The Cathouse was just basically a promotional video for the Bunny Ranch.' Shelly regrets being part of the fake image that encouraged young girls to be a part of the Advertisement 'HBO definitely wanted it to look like it was a fun place to be and so I can see where it can be tempting for a young girl to watch the Cathouse show and think it would be something fun,' she says. 'But they don't understand the reality of it. They aren't seeing what it is really like behind closed doors with Dennis. 'I didn't know that young girls would come to work there who would never have thought of working there if they had not seen the show. "So, looking back, I should never have agreed to do it. It's just horrifying to think that girls so young would want to do that.' Advertisement Deep regrets 26 Dennis Hof, 72, owner of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, died at one of his brothels after a birthday party in 2018 Credit: Getty Images 26 Moonlite Bunny Ranch featured in HBO reality TV show Cathouse: The Series between 2005 and 2007 Credit:26 Alice Little revealed she would sneak downstairs to watch Cathouse when her parents went to bed Tom Hurwitz, Cathouse cinematographer, also came to regret his involvement. Advertisement 'Over the weeks that I worked there I realised that HBO never really wanted to dip further than just below the first public relations level. "Dennis groping people was a daily occurrence, and they pretended to like it,' he says. 'After the first season of Cathouse had been on the air, young women wanted to live in the glamorous image of it. "And so the show began to attract younger women to the Bunny Ranch. Advertisement "It became clear to me that we were part of the recruiting system and I did not feel good about it.' Another of these starry-eyed 'wannabes' was Alice Little. 26 Tom Hurwitz, Cathouse cinematographer, came to regret his involvement 26 Secrets of the Bunny Ranch, can be seen on Crime+Investigation on Wednesday, 25 June Credit: Crime+Investigation Advertisement 'Seeing something that was on late at night that my parents didn't really want me to watch… as a kid that only makes you more intrigued,' she recalls. 'They would go to bed and I would sneak out of my room, go downstairs and watch with the volume turned down low. "I thought it was the coolest thing, being paid to be gorgeous. It sounded amazing. So I decided I was going to go the Bunny Ranch.' As Cathouse became a huge hit, Hof was raking the money in and bought up a string of brothels nearby, transforming them into the model of the Bunny Ranch. Advertisement But he was eager to tell interviewers that he offered women the chance to earn a good living themselves. 'This is an opportunity for you either to make a lot of money in four or five years, invest it properly and never work another day in your life or to make a good amount of money in a short period of time every month so you can be with your kids and work on your writing or acting career or your studies,' he said. If they went days without being chosen by a client, their debts grew so many were constantly trying to pay off their tabs, effectively keeping them trapped there, as they couldn't walk away. Advertisement Wheel of doom 26 It was difficult for ex workers to rebuild their lives without 'extensive medical, psychological and psychiatric assistance' 26 Taina Bien-Aime´ said: 'Cathouse was glamorising the sex trade and pimps' Credit: getty 26 Ex-workers revealed no one became millionaires from the show Taina Bien-Aime was a former HBO Business Affairs Director before becoming an anti-sex trafficking activist. Advertisement 'Cathouse was glamorising the "On screen there is free-flowing alcohol, they are having fun, everybody's laughing, there's a pool. It's a beautiful marketing ploy to recruit young vulnerable women to try it out. 'It's a myth that they can become millionaires. And the moment they leave prostitution they are in abject poverty and it's very difficult for them to rebuild their lives without extensive medical, psychological and psychiatric assistance.' Rape claims 26 Jennifer O'Kane accused Hof of rape Advertisement 26 Rebekah Charleston, who worked at the Bunny Ranch, tried to stay away from Hof 26 Vince Neil, singer, assaulted Andrea Terry, a working girl at the Ranch Credit: wireImage Bekah Charleston, who worked at the Bunny Ranch, adds: 'There are many girls there who are falling into debt. And that's a position you don't want ever to be in at the brothel. "Because that means that whenever a customer finally does pick them, they have to do whatever he wants. No matter if they want to or not. Advertisement 'Dennis himself was notorious for 'partying', which meant having sex with whoever he wanted and not giving them any money. Whenever he was around in the parlour I would try to stay away from him.' Bekah was there when Vince Neil, lead singer of the heavy metal band, Motley Crue, came to visit Dennis in 2003. He was more angry than I had ever seen someone Andrea Terry Andrea Terry, a working girl at the Ranch, later filed a police report after an encounter with him. In the report she says, 'He tried to get me to touch his penis. I reminded him we had to pay before any sexual acts could take place. Advertisement "With such a rage in his eyes he grabbed me by the throat and pushed me against the window frame, holding me there, yelling at me, then yanked me down towards the bed. He was more angry than I had ever seen someone.' Bekah was upset by Hof's reaction to the violence. 26 Each prostitute from out of state works and sleeps in one of the brothel's 30 rooms during the entire duration of her stay Credit: Getty Images 26 Hof was accused of being violent with the girls Credit: Getty Images Advertisement 'Instead of Dennis Hof kicking Vince Neil out for assaulting one of his employees, he took him to the bar, bought him a drink and then paid for him to party with some other girl. I mean, they don't protect you. "In the end, the police actually charged Vince Neil and he pleaded no contest but if Dennis Hof had had his way, no one would have ever known.' Hof died in 2018 of a heart attack. Before his death several women who had worked at the Bunny Ranch accused him of rape, including Theresa Lowe and Jennifer O'Kane. He denied their allegations and never faced any charges, with authorities citing a lack of evidence. Advertisement Vince Neil, The Bunny Ranch and HBO did not respond to the producer's request for comment. Secrets of the Bunny Ranch, can be seen on Crime+Investigation on Wednesday, 25 June
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
'Dark underbelly' of the world's most famous legal brothel exposed in horrifying new documentary
A shocking new A&E documentary exposes what it claims is the seedy underbelly of legal brothel the Moonlite BunnyRanch under its late owner Dennis Hof, who is accused of raping his employees, creating a fictionalized TV series to lure them in, and trapping them in the brothel with debt. Opening its doors in 1955, the brothel came to national attention under Hof, who served as its owner it from 1992 until his death in 2018. During his ownership, he worked with HBO to create the reality series, Cathouse, which set out to shine a light on the inner workings of the business. Airing between 2005 and 2014, the series fast became the most watched documentaries in the history of the network. However, there are allegations that all was not what it seemed under Hof's management, and now the six-part A&E documentary series, Secrets of the BunnyRanch, is exposing the dark inner workings of the brothel. Here, Daily Mail delves into the shocking first two episodes of the docuseries - including the abuse sex workers suffered at the hands of Hof, how they would become indebted to him and his business, and how the HBO show he created was not reality. Born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1946, Hof was a businessman and politician who owned many legal brothels in his lifetime, but Moonlite BunnyRanch was the most notorious. Although it could be illegal to advertise brothels in the state of Nevada, Hof kept up a high profile in the media and regularly made appearances promoting the business on huge shows, including Oprah Winfrey, The Today Show and The View. And in 2002, Hof would further promote Moonlite BunnyRanch in the HBO series Cathouse, which ran for 12 years. Hof was an alleged predator Hof's creepy behavior is laid bare in Secrets of the BunnyRanch by his former employees, who described him as a 'predator' and someone who groomed, controlled, and manipulated them. Former BunnyRanch worker and Cathouse star Shelly Dushell recalled how Hof propositioned her for sex on her first day at work and she was afraid to turn him down. She also claimed that he didn't wear a condom. Recounting how she ended up at the ranch, she said: 'I had no idea that prostitution was legal anywhere in the United States, so I sent a picture of myself to the Moonlight BunnyRanch and Dennis Hof himself called me back in two hours and said I want you out here.' After flying out to Nevada, Shelly said she was picked up at the airport by Hof, who told her he wanted her to star in the HBO show, Cathouse. 'He walked me in and there were cameramen there filming for the HBO show,' she continued. 'Dennis took me out to the bungalow behind the building and wanted sex. And I had just met this man. 'I had flown there to work. He was the boss. He was the owner, and he wanted to have sex the very first day I got there - and he didn't want to wear a condom. So, I was absolutely horrified. 'That was my first day at the ranch. I was afraid to tell Dennis no. I had no idea what I was getting into. 'Nobody seems to care if a prostitute gets raped. I saw the ugly side of Dennis, but the world on Cathouse only saw the fun side of him because they didn't know the real Dennis. Dennis was all about being violent.' There were rules that the women had to follow at BunnyRanch, but these were often flouted by Hof. Whenever a new group arrived at the ranch they were introduced to the Bunny Bible, which outlined that no client touching was allowed in the parlor, clients had to wear condoms, and that the women would have the final say on who they have sex with. The rules didn't apply to Hof, Shelly claimed. 'Dennis preyed on the women who were the most easily victimized,' Shelly said. 'I was afraid to not go along with what he wanted. I learned a long time ago to not fight back.' Trapped at the BunnyRanch Besides living in fear of Hof's alleged abuse, the women also revealed how one could easily become trapped at his brothels because of his ludicrously high fees. Women said they would constantly be trying to pay off their tab, which was known as debt bondage, and couldn't get away until they had paid off what they owed to the house. The brothel had a 50/50 split, meaning the house would get 50 percent and the women would get 50 percent of their fee. However, the women would also have to pay for their supplies – so their earnings were even lower. Dolly Hart, who worked at the Kit Kat ranch, revealed that Hof would even take half of their tips and gifts. Deanne Holliday, who worked as Hof's publicist and personal assistant, explained how little money the girls were left with at the end of the day. 'They're given a card, showing all the money that was deducted,' she said, explaining that it cost the women $45 a day to stay at the ranch. 'You have to pay if you want to do your laundry,' she continued. 'You need to tip the housekeeper, you need to tip the staff, the cashier expects a tip. 'Everybody has got their hands on that money, and that was the norm.' Deanne added that she would repeatedly hear women ask the cashier 'is that all I've got?' after their debts were deducted. Bekah Charleston, who worked at the BunnyRanch, added: 'They don't explain that your room and board is coming out of your 50 percent of the money, so is all your supplies. 'They take as much money as possible. Your little 50 percent basically dwindles down.' 'There are many girls there who are falling into debt and that's a position you don't ever want to be in at the brothel,' she continued. 'That means that when a customer finally does pick them, they have to do whatever he wants no matter if they want to or not.' Shedding light on the additional products that they had to pay for, Shelly added: 'We had to buy our clothing, we had to buy our condoms, we had to buy the lube, we had to buy the sex toys.' 'If you do owe money to the brothel, you cant just walk away,' Bekah added. 'You can't just say, you know what I'm going to call a cab and leave. That's not possible. 'People tried to say it was a regular job, who doesn't leave their job?' 'You're literally there 24/7, that's not normal,' she continued. 'It's like they're being kept in captivity.' Cathouse did not expose the dark side of the brothel During the rise of the Moonlite BunnyRanch, Hof helped orchestrate the HBO reality television series, Cathouse. Directed and executive produced by Patti Kaplan, the 11 episodes of the first season were originally broadcast in 2005. While the show had initially set out to show how the women would negotiate with their clients, it took an increasingly sinister turn – and on one occasion the crew found themselves filming a bunny having sex. Many of the former sex workers have claimed that the popular HBO series Cathouse was a complete fabrication and that Hof took control of the narrative to paint the brothel in a fun light. They claimed the reality at the brothel was much worse - that they were subjected to rape, coercion, overdoses, abuse, and control. Tom Hurwitz, a cinematographer on Cathouse, said that the series 'never really wanted to dip further than just below this first public relations level.' 'Dennis groping people, that was a daily occurrence, and they were supposed to like it, and they pretended to like it,' he continued. 'Nobody asked, "Do you not want Dennis to touch you when he's touching people?" That was not part of the remit of Cathouse.' Shelly explained that making a series that truly explored what the brothel was like was not in Hof's interest – and Hof himself didn't shy away from the notion that he was 'projecting an image' with Cathouse. He wanted to keep his business as attractive as possible. 'They wanted to sell a show, they wanted to make money off of that show and they wanted to make money off the girls having a great time,' Shelly said. 'They just didn't want to show the ugly side of it.' Shelly recalled how she was once expected to sleep with a clown. 'They thought that would be interesting for the show,' she said. Several of the women attest that Cathouse was not a documentary as they were told what to do. Shelly said she was humiliated by her job on Cathouse and that she was 'victimized' by Hof. 'The fact I was a softcore porn actress was humiliating, but Dennis told me that I was going to be a star, that I needed to be on the show, that I'd make tonnes of money, I would be famous, it would make everyone rich,' she said. 'It didn't make me rich. I was victimized. And Dennis Hof was the main victimizer.' Shelly alleged that she was not properly compensated for her time on Cathouse and only got paid when she slept with a customer. 'I was recognized everywhere I went after the show came out,' she said. 'It would have been nice to have a little bit of money to show for it. 'I was actually losing money when I was on HBO because I wasn't working when I was doing the filming for the show.' It wasn't just the sex workers who were uncomfortable with the Cathouse project. Robin Lance, a sound recordist on the series, recalled how she was in a room when one of the women started having sex with her client. 'At one point, we were in the room when Isabella Soprano was having sex with the client,' she said. 'This should have been the point where we scooted out of that room. I was like I didn't sign up for this. I'm not here to shoot porn, I'm here to shoot a documentary. 'This is not what I would normally be doing at work. I was expecting softcore photo stuff, not full-on pornography.' According to Shelly, Hof took charge of the direction of Cathouse and would instruct the women to touch each other and make out with each other in the parlor. 'Dennis wanted to make it so it looked like we were always waiting for sex and we were nymphos, so Dennis somewhat became the director because he was coordinating what he wanted to see in the scenes - and I didn't always see Patti Kaplan around,' she said. 'It's kind of hard to say it's a documentary when you have a pimp directing scenes in his own brothel. 'Watching the show, HBO definitely wanted it to look like the fun place to be and so I can see how it would be tempting for a young girl to watch the Cathouse show and think it would be something fun, [but] they don't understand the reality of it. 'They aren't seeing what it's really like behind closed doors.' Dolly Hart started working at the Kit Kat ranch after having watched Cathouse. Speaking in episode two, she said she was attracted to the job on false pretenses after having seen the HBO series. 'I would definitely tell little me that not everything you see on TV is a reality,' she said. Dennis kept the place on a cheerful, glitzy… so the darker side was kept very private and very much away from the cameras the women said. 'The girls looked like they were having fun.' The Moonlite BunnyRanch told Daily Mail in a statement: 'We note that allegations against Mr. Hof are not new. 'During his lifetime, Mr. Hof publicly addressed and denied similar accusations through official statements and media responses, including detailed rebuttals available on his website. 'We find it particularly concerning that these matters are being revisited now, when Mr. Hof is no longer alive to personally respond to or defend himself against any claims. 'The timing raises serious questions about fairness, as the accused party cannot provide their perspective or defense.' They added: 'The Moonlite BunnyRanch has always operated in compliance with Nevada state regulations governing legal brothels, and we remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of operation and worker safety.' Daily Mail contacted HBO for comment and has not yet had a response. This isn't the first time that former employees have spoken out about Hof. Following his death, former sex worker Theresa Lowe claimed she was raped by him – and he didn't wear a condom. In an interview with in June 2018, she claimed that Hof attacked her within days of her arrival at the Love Ranch North but says she felt unable to go to the police for fear of not being believed. 'I had just flown in [to Carson City], I was going to see the doctor the next day,' she said. 'You get your results 24 hours later then you see the Sheriff and get your card.' A car took Theresa through the mountains to the ranch, where she met Hof. 'I walked in the house. He said let's go upstairs. And he raped me,' Lowe claimed. 'It was violent, choking me, grabbing me by the hair. Suck my d*** you b***h. We had sex, no condom.' According to Theresa, Hof went on to attack her on 10 further occasions and says she finally walked out after an incident in which he allegedly choked her in the kitchen of Love Ranch North. Theresa, who worked for Hof between 2006 and 2012, said: 'I remember we were in the kitchen and he grabbed me by the throat, and said, "Where the f*** have you been?" I'd had enough. 'I'd had enough of girls crying, coming into my room and saying this isn't fair. I believe he rapes and intimidates and tells the new girls, welcome to my ranch but this is how it's going to be. 'This is what you will do. You will service my customers, and you will service me as well. For free. With no condom.'
New York Post
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Sex worker stars of HBO's ‘Cathouse' expose ugly truth of living at Nevada's notorious Moonlite Bunny Ranch: ‘Disgusting and horrific'
The stars of 'Cathouse' are clawing back. Two decades after the headline-hitting HBO docuseries brought prostitution into America's living rooms, sex workers who appeared on the show are accusing its producers of exploitation and misrepresentation. 'Cathouse,' which began airing in June 2005, took a lighthearted look at the lives of employees at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, a legal brothel in Mound House, Nevada. An instant ratings smash, it ran for two seasons and spawned 10 specials. Advertisement The prurient program portrayed the world's oldest profession as empowering and depicted the brothel as a makeshift sorority house where glamorous gal pals bonded by profiting off of horny, harmless, men. But the reality, exposed in the six-part special 'Secrets of the Bunny Ranch,' premiering June 12 on A&E, was far more sinister. The documentary paints a picture of desperate women humiliated, intimidated and manipulated by the brothel's notorious owner, Dennis Hof, who was later accused of rape by a former employee. Advertisement 12 Dennis Hof, the notorious owner of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, had a starring role in HBO's controversial 'Cathouse.' David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images 12 Hof is seen with women from HBO's 'Cathouse' at the Exotic Erotic Ball in the mid-2000s. WireImage Several women who worked at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch claim 'Cathouse' tacitly encouraged young female viewers to pursue a career in prostitution, buoyed by the show's fun and fizzy tone. 'It enticed these young girls and we did get a lot of them,' 'Cathouse' star Shelly Dushell told The Post. 'As soon as they turned 18, [they] were trying to work there… I mean, the show really was good for recruiting.' Advertisement 'I would say to HBO and 'Cathouse' [producers] shame on you,' former Bunny Ranch employee Bekah Charleston declared in an interview with The Post. 'Shame on you for making something look glamorous and fun when that's not the reality,' she added. 'It wasn't glamorous and fun. It is disgusting and horrific work in the middle of nowhere.' HBO did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 12 Shelly Dushell worked at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch for several years starting in 2004. She was one of the lead stars on 'Cathouse.' A&E Advertisement 12 Bekah Charleston is among the women who are speaking out in A&E's 'Secrets of the Bunny Ranch,' set to premiere this week. A&E A powerful pimp Hof had a starring role on 'Cathouse.' In the mid-2000s, at the time of the show's airing, he was portrayed in mainstream media as a pioneering entrepreneur getting rich in light of legalized prostitution. But far from being a benevolent boss, the Bunny Ranch was more like Hof's house of horrors, with employees saying they lived in fear of him. He was just was a disgusting, vile human being that just profited off of other people's backs and bragged about it.' Bekah Charleston, former employee of Dennis Hof Dushell told The Post that Hof, who owned six other legal brothels, regularly pressured her into sex. 'Dennis wanted to sleep with me the first night that I got there,' she claimed. 'I didn't say no to him, so I wasn't raped, but I was put in a position where I felt like I could not say no to him…. So I just went along with it and I thought, 'OK, well, maybe he makes all the girls do this,' and I was right.' 'For the most part, he tried out most of the girls that would let him,' she added. 'And then he apparently he did it even when girls didn't want him to.' 12 Dushell with Hof, rapper Mr. Mixx and porn star Ron Jeremy in 2004. Getty Images Advertisement 12 Hof owned seven legal brothels, including the Moonlite Bunny Ranch. The notorious businessman died in 2018. Bloomberg via Getty Images Per The Las Vegas Review Journal, Hof was accused of raping a prostitute at one of his brothels in 2005. He was also accused of sexually assaulting women in 2009 and 2011. Hof ran as a Republican candidate for the Nevada Assembly in 2018. He died of a heart attack in October of that year, but his name was left on the ballot at elections the following month. He was posthumously elected to the seat. 'If Dennis had lived, he probably would have ended up in prison because of all the accusations he had against him,' Dushell said of the pimp-turned-politician. Advertisement 12 Two working girls getting ready for their next clients at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch in on 'Secrets of the Bunny Ranch,' several employees claim that Hof financially exploited them. He allegedly underpaid numerous workers, stripping them of their agency and effectively keeping them confined to the remote brothel. Charleston, who worked briefly at the Bunny Ranch in the early 2000s, told The Post that some of the employees were trapped there 'for years at a time without leaving.' Advertisement 'I was the only person at that time that I remember who actually had my own vehicle there,' she shockingly stated. As for Hof: 'He was just was a disgusting, vile human being that just profited off of other people's backs and bragged about it.' 12 Despite being a lead star in the hit HBO series, Dushell says she was only paid a few thousand dollars for her appearance in Bunny Ranch has released a statement regarding the new A&E special, stating: 'As the documentary series 'Secrets of the Bunny Ranch' has not yet aired, and we have not been provided with an advance copy, it would be premature for us to address any specific allegations without first reviewing the actual content and claims being made. That said, we note that allegations against Mr. Hof are not new.' Advertisement 'During his lifetime, Mr. Hof publicly addressed and denied similar accusations through official statements and media responses, including detailed rebuttals available on his website,' the statement continued. 'We find it particularly concerning that these matters are being revisited now, when Mr. Hof is no longer alive to personally respond to or defend himself against any claims. The timing raises serious questions about fairness, as the accused party cannot provide their perspective or defense.' Empowerment or exploitation? Hof wasn't the only one making a pretty penny from the Moonlite Bunny Ranch. 'Cathouse' quickly became a ratings smash for HBO, garnering millions of curious viewers. Dushell became one of the show's stars and was immediately recognized in public — but fame didn't come with a fortune. 'HBO wasn't much better than a pimp, because I was barely paid anything,' she claims in the 'Secrets of the Bunny Ranch' documentary. 12 Dushell says she was paid between $300 and $350 per sex scene on 'Cathouse.' In total, she estimates she earned around $2,000.12 Dushell, now 50, is speaking out on 'Secrets of the Bunny Ranch.' A&E 'I made between $300 and $350 per sex scene,' Dushell further explained to The Post. 'And that was all they paid me for.' 'I got actual pay stubs from HBO and W-2s mailed to me and it was exciting to get an envelope that said 'HBO' on it with a paycheck, but the paycheck was just a few hundred dollars, so it was pretty embarrassing to be honest with you,' she said. 'They didn't pay me for just normal scenes, and it was just a ridiculously low amount of money. People seeing me on TV thought that I had gotten rich,' Dushell added. A different time 'Cathouse,' premiered a year after HBO aired the finale of 'Sex and the City' — another envelope-pushing series in which women unabashedly discussed their sexual proclivities and activities. In the mid-2000s, pop culture seemingly promoted sex positivity at every turn, making it seem that women were profiting from their provocative pursuits, from Britney Spears in her raunchy video clips to Paris Hilton in her infamous sex tape. But in the wake of the #MeToo movement, many women are reassessing how much agency that era actually brought about. 12 Hof at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch in 2013. The brothel is still in operation. Bloomberg via Getty Images For posterity, the New York Post's 2002 review of the original 'Cathouse,' which is referenced in 'Secrets of the Bunny Ranch,' has aged far better. 'There hasn't been a portrayal of hookers this one-dimensional and phony since 'Pretty Woman,'' our acid-tongued TV critic Linda Stasi savagely wrote. 'Cathouse' is no longer available on HBO platforms. 'Even when we were filming it, I knew it wasn't a true representation,' Dushell admitted to The Post, saying the HBO show omitted the gritty reality of life at the brothel. 'They wanted to sell the show, they wanted to make money off the show, and they wanted to make money off the girls having a great time. They just didn't want to show the ugly side of it,' she further says in 'Secrets of the Bunny Ranch.' Despite the veneer of glamour and empowerment that 'Cathouse' presented, many of the employees were desperate women who had fallen on hard times. In the 'Secrets of the Bunny Ranch' special, Dushell reveals that she was sexually abused as a child, saying: 'I probably would never have thought about working at the Bunny Ranch if I hadn't had an old man touching me when I was a little, bitty kid.' Charleston, meanwhile, told The Post that she was a teenage runaway when she got into prostitution. 'The vast majority of people that find themselves in prostitution are disenfranchised people that come from impoverished backgrounds, homelessness, the foster care system,' she said. 'I mean, I was a runaway kid living on the streets, vulnerable and hungry and so I think it's really important to keep that in mind.' 12 Charleston told The Post she was a teenage runaway when she got into prostitution. A&E Several years after leaving the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, Charleston was arrested for tax evasion and served 13 months in federal prison. It was later determined she had been a victim of sex trafficking and was granted a full pardon by President Trump in 2020. She has obtained both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree and is now a public speaker raising awareness about human trafficking. Both she and Dushell also want to raise awareness about not believing everything you see on TV. ''Cathouse' did exploit the girls,' Dushell said. 'I really expected more from HBO. They came across with a great show, though. I mean, people loved it. It just wasn't real.'
