Hugh Hefner's Son Slams Playboy CEO for Banning Nudity, Cooper Hefner Says He's Taken a "Massive Step Back"

"The issue was the way in which the nudity and the issue was portrayed," he says

By Francesca Bacardi Feb 10, 2016 9:21 PMTags
Cooper HefnerJason Kempin/Getty Images

Hugh Hefner's son is a fan of the classics—classic magazines, that is.

Cooper Hefner sat down for an interview with Business Insider and slammed Playboy magazine's CEO Scott Flanders. Cooper, 24, who once titled himself a former domestic and international brand ambassador for Playboy Enterprises, also said that he has been ousted from board meetings since expressing his disagreement with certain editorial decisions, including the nudity ban.

"I've taken a massive step back with Playboy. Just due to that fact that I do not agree with the decisions and direction the company is actually going in," Cooper told the magazine. "I was essentially asked to no longer participate in the board meetings because I didn't agree with his vision for the company. You either sort of take a step back and say, ‘Ok, I'm going to let this happen' or you try and do something about it."

Playboy Enterprises announced it would do away with nudity in October, marking the end of an era that began in 1953 with Marilyn Monroe. "Playboy will continue to publish sexy, seductive pictorials of the world's most beautiful women, including its iconic Playmates, all shot by some of today's most renowned photographers," the publication said in a statement at the time.

Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images for Playboy

"The magazine will also remain committed to its award-winning mix of long-form journalism, interviews and fiction."

In recent weeks it was also announced that the Playboy mansion was up for sale, but Hugh would be able to reside in the house until his death. "I was in the boardroom when the conversation was being had about whether we should go non-nude with the magazine as well as the company, and I didn't agree with the decision because I felt as though millennial and Gen-Y didn't view nudity as the issue," he continued. "The issue was the way in which the nudity and the issue was portrayed."

Cooper now serves as the CEO of Hop. He also tweeted his opinion, calling what's happening at his father's magazine "sad."

Hugh's son also said that he felt all the changes taking place are "disrespectful" to his father's legacy, with whom he credits "kick starting the sexual revolution."

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