PLAYBOY model Carla Howe has defended Hugh Hefner amid his ex-girlfriend’s claims his infamous mansion was like a “cult”.
The 31-year-old says she was lucky not to see the “dark side” of Hefner while living with him.
Carla and her twin sister Melissa became bunnies and moved into the LA mansion in 2011.
There are shocking stories about Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion being alleged in Secrets of Playboy, an A&E docuseries that begins in the US on the A&E Network today.
Carla told her Instagram followers: “I have seen clips of some people’s interviews saying Hef is the new Jeffrey Epstein and all those things.
“I guess me and my sister were lucky because when we went there he was with Crystal [Harris]. He wasn’t trying to have sex or any of those things.
“It is shocking seeing some of the things people are saying about Hef, but at the same time I just feel lucky because I didn’t get to see the dark side and I’m so glad he didn’t try it on at all.
“There was never a time when he was pervy, not once.
“He was like my granddad from another lifetime.
“I knew there wasn’t going to be s*** going down.”
She added: “The allegations made against him in the documentary, I can’t comment on, but there were a lot of rules in place.
“We’re just lucky we had all of the amazing parties.
“Shout out to Destiny, you were my sister there. Yeah at least we had the parties, they turned up.
“I lived there for a while and it was fly as f***.
“I’m really excited for the show to come out. Stay tuned. It’s going to be a lot of madness from what I’ve seen.
“Hopefully this isn’t going to be the next big scandal in the news because I never saw that part of it. We just had an amazing time, went to some lit parties and shot all over LA.”
Carla previously told how the girls had a strict 9pm curfew, saying that none of them were even allowed to invite friends to the mansion to see them.
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Speaking to The Sun in 2021, she said the house was “more like an old people’s home” than a haven for wild sex.
The Brit beauty said: “He almost never leaves home and refuses to change anything in the mansion, so the whole place feels like it’s stuck in the 1980s.”
And Carla’s twin, Melissa, added that there were strict rules all the women have to follow while they were living in the 22-bedroom mansion.
She said: “If you do something wrong, you’ll get an email. There’s a strict code of conduct. There are even rules about Instagram and Twitter.”
“You’ve got to show everything in a good light and if you’re drunk in a picture you’ll be in trouble.”
The Sun revealed how Hefner’s had so much cocaine in his Playboy mansion that a pal’s poodle got addicted to it.
The dog’s drug habit got so bad he was locked away during parties as he’d try to lick guests’ noses for a fix.
The revelation is made by Sondra Theodore — an ex-girlfriend of the late sex magnate — in a new TV documentary.
The American actress and model claims the mutt got addicted after dipping his nose into the “huge vials” of white powder dotted around the infamous property in Los Angeles.
Sondra, 65, says: “There were drugs everywhere.”
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Hugh’s former assistant confirms that drugs were rife.
Lisa Loving Barrett, who worked for Hefner from 1977 to 1989, says: “Cocaine was a big deal.”
She recalls that at a couple of the larger parties a pile of the Class A drug was under a toilet paper holder in a downstairs loo.
Another of his ex’s Holly Madison explained her take on the atmosphere in the mansion in a clip from the series, saying: “The reason I think the Mansion was very cult-like, looking back on it, is because we were all kind of gaslit and expected to think of Hef as, like, this really good guy.
“You started to feel like, ‘Oh, he’s not what they say in the media — he’s just a nice man,'” she added.
His son Cooper Hefner hit back, saying: “Some may not approve of the life my Dad chose, but my father was not a liar.
“However unconventional, he was sincere in his approach and lived honestly.
“He was generous in nature and cared deeply for people. These salacious stories are a case study of regret becoming revenge.”
Hugh lived in the mansion with a bevy of girlfriends from 1974 until his death in 2017 at 91.
The publisher was famed for Playboy magazine and for throwing wild parties at the property, attended by rich and famous guests.
A&E TV explains: “The documentary event ‘Secrets of Playboy’ explores the hidden truths behind the fable and philosophy of the Playboy empire through a modern-day lens.
“The series delves into the complex world Hugh Hefner created and examines its far-reaching consequences on our culture’s view of power and sexuality.”
Secrets of Playboy airs on A&E on January 24, 2022.