Crystal Hefner has launched a formal challenge against the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation, accusing the organisation of mishandling thousands of her late husband’s private scrapbooks — a collection she says contains explicit images of women, including herself, and potentially underage girls.
Crystal Hefner wants Hugh Hefner’s explicit scrapbooks to remain private
The former Playboy model and widow of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner has filed regulatory complaints with the attorneys general of both California and Illinois, raising concerns that the foundation may be preparing to release or digitise the material without proper safeguards.
According to Crystal, the scrapbooks — reportedly numbering in the thousands — document decades of Hefner’s private life and include sexual images that were never intended for public consumption. She argues that many of the women featured may not even know they were photographed, and fears that some may have been underage at the time.
Crystal revealed that she was recently removed from her role as president of the foundation, a move she believes is connected to her objections over how the documents are being handled.
At a press conference alongside attorney Gloria Allred on Tuesday (17.02.26), she described the situation as urgent, stressing that the foundation’s alleged plans could expose deeply personal and potentially non‑consensual images.
She said: “My focus is on how Hugh Hefner’s personal scrapbooks chronicle private moments that took place behind closed doors.
“There are serious and unresolved concerns about the scope of what these books contain. The materials span decades, beginning in the 1960s, and may include images of girls who were underage at the time and could not consent to how their images would be retained or controlled.”
The complaints allege that the foundation has roughly 3,000 scrapbooks and Hefner’s personal diary, raising alarm over what Crystal describes as “irresponsible” stewardship of sensitive material. Reports suggest the foundation may be considering digitising the archive — a possibility that has intensified Crystal’s efforts to intervene before any images are released or leaked.
She maintains that her priority is protecting the privacy and dignity of the women depicted, insisting that the scrapbooks were never meant to become a public archive.
Crystal went on: “The scrapbooks include nude images, images taken before and after sexual activity, and other deeply intimate moments. They contain intimate material involving women who are now mothers, grandmothers, professionals, and private citizens who have spent decades building their lives with no idea these images were still being hoarded. I believe they include women, and possibly girls, who never agreed to lifelong private possession of their naked images, and who have no transparency into where their photos are, how they are being stored, or what will happen to them next.”
She concluded: “This is not about money. I am seeking dignity, safety, and the destruction of nonconsensual intimate materials so that exploitation does not continue under the banner of philanthropy. Thousands of women may be affected. This is a civil rights issue. Women’s bodies are not property, not history, and not collectibles. And no organization should be allowed to claim the language of civil rights while denying women their most basic one: the right to control their own bodies and images.”
