[imagesource: A&E]

In the latest episode of Secrets of Playboy, former Playboy Mansion residents, guests, and other regulars revealed the dark truth behind what has been dubbed the Playboy “shadow mansions” or “mini-mansion parties”.

Jennifer Saginor (above), the daughter of Dr Mark Saginor (nicknamed Dr Feelgood as he allegedly used his prescription pad willy-nilly), grew up in the Playboy Mansion and shadow mansions from the age of six.

Mark was Hefner’s physician, best friend, and alleged lover – but we will get to that in a bit.

In the series exposé, Jennifer claimed that Hef’s friends and associates disguised the shadow mansions as modelling agencies to “lure young women into sexual abuse”.

This via NewsAU:

She described the alleged “shadow mansions” as mini-replicas of Hefner’s infamous Holmby Hills home where his inner circle would invite and house women who were “sevens” or “eights” and just missed the cut-off to make it into Playboy.

“And they would have smaller versions of the Playboy mansions, which I would refer to as mini-mansions. They would house these young girls who would come to Los Angeles looking for opportunities to become actresses or models.”

When Jennifer was moved to her father’s shadow house, she claimed to have witnessed a barrage of predatory behaviours and sexual abuse.

Here’s a clip from the latest episode:

Per US Weekly, former model Rachel Myers recalls how she was taken advantage of in the shadow mansions by an associate of Hef’s who she had seen numerous times at the Playboy Mansion parties:

“I was told that the way to get into the Playboy mansion was to show my boobs,” she recalled.

“I don’t know, I just did it. Photos were taken, and there were photos on the table of multiple women, and so I just thought it was normal. And so that’s how I got into the Playboy Mansion.”

Jennifer backed this up with her own account, mentioning the system of blackmail that fed into the abuse:

“I just remember walking in on them and being, like, horrified,” she alleged. “These girls were clearly drugged and not coherent. Maybe they would also have somebody, like, videotaping them, and then that videotape could be used as blackmail so they wouldn’t tell anyone, or so that they’d sort of fall into this underground system of being available. … Of course Hefner’s aware of the system. All of his friends were housing these girls, and they were the ones who owned the mini mansions.”

…“Basically, any powerful, wealthy man in Los Angeles who was on the guest list to attend the mini-mansion parties was given an opportunity to spend time with particular girls,” she claimed.

“‘Spending time with her’ is code for ‘Having sex with her.’ I think many of the girls stayed in the mini-mansion system because they were scared of being blackmailed with videotapes.”

Besides Jennifer’s father, there was also Bernie Cornfeld, a friend and business partner of Hefner, who set up his own mini Playboy Mansion, called Grayhall.

Here’s Sharmagne Leland-St. John-Sylbert, who worked for Cornfeld after previously being a Playboy bunny:

“Bernie would go prowling at night. He’d go prowling up in the dormitory and be having sex with the girls up there,” claimed Sharmagne.

“I realized that the modeling agency apparently fronted for Bernie’s sexual appetite, so if you moved into the house, you became prey. You became one of his next conquests.”

Jackie Hatten, also a Playboy Mansion regular, recalled how seconds after walking into the doors of the mansions, the men would try to make her and the other women as intoxicated as possible:

“The experience I had at the mini-mansion parties is immediately walking in, having all the men glom on to you offering you, you know, lines of coke or a bowl of, you know, ecstasy. If you refuse those, they’re trying to shove Champagne in your face,” Hatten claimed.

Fascinatingly, the episode also revealed how Hef was allegedly in a deep, romantic relationship with Dr Feelgood:

“It’s my personal belief that the love of Hef’s life was my father,” Jennifer claimed in the March 14 episode. “My father and Hef had a spiritual connection that I don’t believe any of these wives or girlfriends could ever compete against.”

Another person who appeared in the episode, referred to simply as Theodore, claims that the pair were far more than just friends and “took things really far”.

Mark and Hef remained friends until Hef’s death in 2017.

[sources:newsau&usweekly]