Hugh Hefner and the famed Playboy Mansion have become a staple in pop culture. Some of the most prominent celebrities have graced the halls of the California estate. Actress Jenny McCarthy recently recalled being a guest in the mansion while Hefner was still married.
“I was there when his kids were throwing bacon at me in high chairs. It was the perfect time,” she said.
“There was that big Playboy scandal TV special, they asked me to be part of it constantly. I’m like, ‘Listen, I didn’t have that experience. Pamela [Anderson] didn’t have that experience.’ We were at a different time, I think.”
Jenny McCarthy Details ‘Gross Celebrities’ in Playboy Mansion
The Playboy empire built its brand off of sex. Their famed magazines, which featured nude models, flew off of shelves upon their release. McCarthy said much of the lewd behavior that was promoted in the magazine was also exhibited in the mansion. And oftentimes, celebrities would participate.
“There was so much, still, sex going on with gross celebrities in the grotto areas and stuff like that,” she said.
“Unfortunately, for every 20 guys, it was 1 girl. So the guys were just in heaven. But also the guys were over 70 years old,” she recalled. “Oh God, they were like, really, really old. It was like Viagra central.”
The famed actress wasn’t done there. She also joked that “someday” she would “maybe tell the funny stories of it all,” recalling memories of other attendees “hunting for Hef in the middle of the night while he was married.”
Actress Recalls Playmate Audition
Much of the success of Playboy is attributed to its exclusivity. People would jump through hoops for access to the estate.
But even more exclusive was the title of a Playmate. Playmates are the women invited to be featured in the magazine and oftentimes even live in the mansion. McCarthy revealed what her experience was like auditioning to become a playmate.
“I said, ‘How do people become Playmates?’ They go, ‘They don’t walk in. You have to send a photo.’ And I was like, ‘Alright, bye.’ I was waiting for the elevator and the editor walked by and he said, ‘We have a photo shoot going on, do you want to throw on a bikini?’” she recounted.
“And I said, ‘Okay’ — this is a true story — and I thought, ‘I didn’t shave. Like, this is bad.’ Because I didn’t think — I was just going to get information. So I went and put on my bathing suit and I went to the photographer and literally they were like, ‘Pose’ — I did like a mug shot.
Then I took the bus home. By the time I got home, there was a voicemail on my answering machine that said, ‘We want to test you for Miss October.’”