Hugh Hefner's Son Cooper Defends Him Against 'Salacious Stories' Ahead of Docuseries

Cooper Hefner is coming to his late father's defense. 

On Sunday, Hugh Hefner's youngest son took to Twitter, criticizing "salacious" stories that have emerged about the former Playboy mogul ahead of a new A&E docuseries, Secrets of Playboy, which is set to premiere on Monday night. 

"Some may not approve of the life my Dad chose, but my father was not a liar," Cooper tweeted. "However unconventional, he was sincere in his approach and lived honestly. He was generous in nature and cared deeply for people."

He concluded his tweet, "These salacious stories are a case study of regret becoming revenge."

While he did not specify which stories he was referencing, various allegations have been recently waged against the Playboy founder from some of the women that were closest to him, including former girlfriend Sondra Theodore, who met him when she was 19 years old and he was 50. 

"Hef pretended he wasn't involved in any hard drug use at the mansion, but that was just a lie," Sondra alleged in a teaser clip for the docuseries.  

Holly Madison, who became his main girlfriend years later, claimed in other preview footage for the project that Hugh "flipped out" on her after she cut her hair short. "Hef would be pretty abrasive in the way he said things to Holly," fellow former girlfriend Bridget Marquardt said. 

The docuseries comes more than four years after Hugh died in September 2017 at 91 years old. "I know there was a tremendous amount of curiosity about me and my lifestyle, and that is not altogether an accident," he told ET in 1982. "But I also think that has a major part to do with what Playboy's all about. I think the two great fascinations and guilts in America are sex and wealth, and combining the two in Playboy -- and then with my own lifestyle so intimately and related to the magazine -- I think it’s very natural that people will feel a great fascination about that and about me."

Hugh's family no longer has ownership of Playboy. A spokesperson for the company responded to the new allegations, telling ET, "Today’s Playboy is not Hugh Hefner’s Playboy. We trust and validate these women and their stories and we strongly support those individuals who have come forward to share their experiences. As a brand with sex positivity at its core, we believe safety, security, and accountability are paramount. The most important thing we can do right now is actively listen and learn from their experiences. We will never be afraid to confront the parts of our legacy as a company that do not reflect our values today. As an organization with a more than 80 percent female workforce, we are committed to our ongoing evolution as a company and to driving positive change for our communities."

Secrets of Playboy premieres Monday on A&E.

 RELATED CONTENT:

Hugh Hefner's Ex Girlfriend Claims She Was Groomed by Playboy Mogul

'Secrets of Playboy' Series Unearths Shocking Allegations About Hugh Hefner's Brand

Hugh Hefner's Trust Reveals He Prohibits Drug Abuse By Family Members

Related Gallery

Most Famous 'Playboy' Bunnies