Crystal Harris Details Allegations Against Hugh Hefner in New Podcast Interview
Crystal Harris, widow of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, said in a new podcast interview that she experienced repeated sexual abuse and acts she says were not consensual. She also described alleged coercion involving Hefner’s former “Playboy” twins and sex-related props. Harris married Hefner in 2012 and he died in September 2017.
Crystal Harris, the widow of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, has shared new allegations about her life with the late publisher, accusing him of abusive sexual behavior and of acts she says were carried out without her consent.
In an interview with the podcast Lisa Guerrero Unleashed, published Tuesday, Harris described what she said were difficult experiences during her relationship with Hefner, including claims that he sexually attacked her multiple times.
Harris says she believed she was doing what he wanted
When asked whether she believes she was raped by Hefner, Harris replied, "Yes, I believe I did everything he wanted me to do. And if that included sex, then I just did what he wanted." She added that there were times when she felt "very uncomfortable" in the bedroom, saying, "Things happened there that, in the end, just weren’t okay."
She also responded to the interviewer’s characterization of her description as rape, agreeing with the assessment and saying Hefner "wasn’t gentle. He wasn’t gentle. Then he snored, and I’m trying to sleep after what happened, and my body hurts," she said. Harris further claimed, "He just needed a thrill or stronger stimulation. There was nothing intimate in anything that had to do with him."
Allegations involving Hefner’s former twins
Among the most severe claims Harris made involves Hefner’s former “Playboy” twins, identical sisters Christina and Karissa Shannon, who were also part of his circle at the Playboy mansion in Los Angeles. Harris said she believed Hefner tried to pressure the twins into sexual acts with each other.
"I remember him starting to try to push the twins’ heads toward each other’s sex organs, to get them to engage in this sexual activity with each other," Harris said. "This is incest. It’s disgusting. I didn’t want them to have to do anything like that with each other. It was very difficult."
Claims about sex props and coercion
Harris also alleged that Hefner used what she described as dirty sex props during intimate encounters with her and other women. "I remember him taking them out, and one of them was black and had two sides," she said. "You could see that they were dirty, and he just grabbed us, held our groins and took those dirty sex toys and just inserted them into us," she added.
Earlier accusations and her life after Hefner
The new remarks add to statements Harris has made in recent years about her relationship with Hefner and her life at the Playboy mansion. Earlier this month, she said she experienced sexual, emotional, financial, and physical abuse during the relationship, and she asked actress Jessica Biel to reconsider her involvement in a planned film, Playmates, in which Harris said Biel was expected to play Hefner’s wife, a character not based on a real person.
Harris warned against portraying Hefner romantically, adding that other women had previously made allegations of rape, coercion, drugging, and exploitation.
In August, in an interview with the podcast No One Asked Her, Harris said she believed she underwent "brainwashing" while living at the mansion, adding that there was "nothing outside" that validated what she experienced. She also said that during her time there, there were about 70 employees overseeing different aspects of life at the estate.
Harris married Hefner in 2012 and remained married to him until his death in September 2017, when he was 91. Since then, she has frequently spoken publicly about her experiences.
In April this year, Harris married her partner, marine biologist James Word, after the two began dating in 2024.
