"Playboy founder Hugh Hefner notified the FBI of Jeffrey Epstein and reported that a Playmate was sexually abused and trafficked by the late financier, according to new court documents reported this week.
"The FBI reportedly ignored several of Hefner's tips about Epstein for 15 years, according to NewsNation."
https://www.rawstory.com/hugh-hefner-jeffrey-epstein
@msbellows what is it exactly the FBI does around here? Other than knock on doors of people saying mean things on the internet about the president?
@msbellows it says something that the guy was too creepy for Hugh Hefner
The guy whose entire brand was the creepy exploitation of young women said, "hey, this guy is a bad person" and law enforcement just didn't.
Very America. Much liberty, go freedom.
@troy_frizzell He ended up being cloistered and weird, but have you ever read "The Playboy Philosophy" he wrote in the Sixties? It's surprisingly progressive. I think he was seriously trying to help. https://www.politico.eu/article/the-playboy-philosophy-hugh-hefner-politics-womens-rights/
@msbellows @troy_frizzell There were people genuiniely reading Playboy "for the articles". That line has been tossed out so many times, but it is only half joking.
@msbellows @troy_frizzell This is a *fascinating* read. Playboy was a bit before my time and always something I wrote off as being for a different demographic than me, so it's surprising to see how much political common ground I have with Hef of all people. Certainly not all, but I think there are really important positive aspects of the Playboy Philosophy that came true in mainstream culture beyond the formal political victories like abortion rights and support for single mothers.
It's something I consider important for my politics that I present myself as a package deal of traits that aren't constrained by puritanism. I write software, and about software. I was raised in a cult. I take a lot of nature photos. I'm too disabled to work, but getting fit at the same time in ways I didn't think I could. And I'm a pansexual lesbian dominatrix in a polycule. That intentional framing isn't actually that different from the multidimensional humanized framing of Playmates, which I just... did not know.
@MaddieM4 @troy_frizzell I did this a little more and found a few other interesting factoids about Playboy / Hugh Hefner:
1. The first short story he ran in the magazine was a SFF that had been refused elsewhere about a straight man constantly discriminated against by a homosexual society. When readers complained that it was wrong to portray a heterosexual being discriminated against, he responded that it's exactly as wrong in reverse – ie, he was a very early advocate for gay rights.
2. Someone recommended he call his centerfolds "Playthings." He replied that women weren't things, but equal partners, including in bed, and so named them "Playmates."
3. Playboy was the first mainstream men's magazine to feature a trans female centerfold.
4. The foundation Hefner started funded the distribution of the newly invented "rape kit" that made it easier for women to identify and convict their male assailants.
Again, I'm not saying he wasn't a creepy weirdo by the end of his life, but definitely a more interesting and less terrible guy than I realized!
@msbellows @MaddieM4 @troy_frizzell re: number 3, tula cossey’s story is interesting and worth reading about. i may get a few details wrong here as my memory isn’t great at this, but i believe she modeled for them first as a bond girl. then her life was rather upended when she was outed by a tabloid. and after that happened, playboy invited her back to tell her story. she returned several more times.
@brhfl @msbellows @MaddieM4 @troy_frizzell Just to interject a bit more, Hefner supported Jazz and the musicians who made it happen. While I agree that he was problematic, the man did love and elevate the music.
Threads like this are why the fediverse is so awesome. Thanks for all the backstory!