Kimberly Hefner and Hugh Hefner; Crystal Hefner.Photo:Getty
Getty
Hugh Hefner’s ex-wife Kimberly is speaking out in his defense.
“We should be wary of those who try to destroy things because they are no longer benefiting from them. People like that will never hold credibility, in my opinion,” she said. “If you want to talk about exploitation, this is exactly what these women have done with Hef in his later years and at the end of his life.”
Hugh Hefner and Kimberley Conrad-News.Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage
Speaking with PEOPLE about the world she entered when she was just 21 years old, Crystal says that “a lot of women that have been in Hef’s orbit, they’ve lost their sparkle."
According to the now-37-year-old entrepreneur and advocate, Hefner alsohad strict rules about everything, down to making his girlfriends come to him each week to collect their “allowance” that he doled out in crisp bills.
Hugh Hefner.SCOTT BRYSON/Sygma/Getty
Crystal also alleged in her memoir that Hefner always carried a disposable camera with him and that he took photos of the women everywhere.
“We were disposable too. I watched as those cameras filled up with the most incriminating images,” she wrote. “Rolls and rolls of potential blackmail, if he ever wanted to use it that way.”
Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris celebrate Hefner’s 85th birthday at the Palms Casino Resort April 9, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Ethan Miller/WireImage
Ethan Miller/WireImage
“At the time I thought I was on top,” she tells PEOPLE of her experience. “And I was, but I just lost myself in the process.
“I realized I was dealing with a really big power imbalance,” she adds. “It seemed like a world of success and fantasy, but everyone’s having to sleep with an 80-year-old. There’s a price. Everything has a price.”
source: people.com
