Cooper and Marston Hefner, sons of the late Playboy magnate Hugh Hefner, dismissed an alarming claim from their father’s widow, Crystal Hefner, that his scrapbooks contain photos of underage girls.

The brothers, whose mother is Hefner’s second wife, Kimberley Conrad, said in a statement to HuffPost that they “have personally reviewed these materials extensively over many years, as have numerous historians, filmmakers, and journalists, including those who have both celebrated and critically examined his life’s work.”

“Over more than a quarter century of familiarity with these materials, we have never seen inappropriate images of minors, as has been suggested,” they said Wednesday. “The scrapbooks document decades of personal, professional, and family history. Our father lived much of his life publicly and assembled these materials as a historical record, with the intention that they ultimately be preserved and reviewed in full context, not hidden or concealed.”

“We believe claims of this magnitude should be supported by evidence and precision, not implication without proof,” they added. “We support the preservation of the scrapbooks in partnership with a university or museum, along with responsible public access consistent with his long standing wishes.”

On Tuesday, Crystal Hefner, who was married to the Playboy founder from 2012 until his death in 2017, said at a news conference that she is “deeply worried” about Hugh Hefner’s scrapbooks and journals getting out because they contain images of nude women taken without their consent, and even images of underage girls. Gloria Allred, her lawyer, said at the news conference that the journals are full of descriptions of his sexual exploits, specific sex acts, and his efforts to track women’s menstrual cycles.

After this story was published Thursday, Crystal Hefner wrote in response on her Instagram that she did not consent to the “public distribution or public access” of photos taken of her “privately.” She added that she’s seen the images in the scrapbooks and maintains there are “sexually explicit” images of “very young-appearing girls.”

“Cooper and Marston can rest easy knowing that their naked images are not in there,” Crystal Hefner said. “They can put their own naked bodies in a museum, not ours.”

During the Tuesday news conference, Allred and Crystal Hefner didn’t show any of the images or journal entries, but they said they filed regulatory complaints with the offices of the attorneys general of California and Illinois, requesting an investigation into the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation’s scrapbook and journal collection. California’s attorney general did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment; an Illinois attorney general spokesperson said the office had received the complaint and is reviewing it.

Crystal Hefner said that after she voiced her concerns about the scrapbooks and journals, she was removed as the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation’s chief executive. The foundation did not respond to a request for comment.

Founded in 1964, the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation “supports and funds today’s pioneers defending civil rights and liberties, with special emphasis on First Amendment rights and rational sex and drug policies,” according to its website.

Crystal Hefner said at the news conference that the “hypocrisy” of the foundation’s mission statement is as “disturbing as it is obvious.”

By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.