Playboy Alum Holly Madison Accuses Crystal Hefner of Copying Her Book

Holly Madison isn't feeling very playful toward Crystal Hefner. 

The Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny author called out the wife of late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner for copying her writing style in her own memoir, Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself, which was released back in January. 

"Anybody who's read my book that came out eight years ago and then read her book," Holly said during a March 26 episode of the podcast LadyGang, "tell me the narrative voice doesn't sound exactly the same. Drives me up a wall."

And while the 44-year-old admitted there would certainly be similarities between her 2015 bestseller and Crystal's work, seeing as they both had tumultuous relationships with Hugh and lived in the Playboy mansion, she said reading her story felt "like reading my own book."

"She weaves fairy tale references in and out just like I did and uses a lot of the same psychological catchphrases, and things like that," Holly continued. "I'm weirded out by it, especially since she had a ghost writer. Like, do your research and don't copy."

And that's not to say Holly—who began reflecting on her experience at the mansion on her and fellow playmate Bridget Marquardt's podcast, Girls Next Level, in 2022—isn't supportive of other playmates writing about their experience with the late magazine mogul from their perspectives. In fact, she shouted out her Girls Next Door costar Kendra Wilkinson with penning a memoir that felt totally original. 

"If you take my book and Kendra's book, it's two completely different people even though we lived there at the same time," Holly said, "like it's two completely different voices—as it should be." 

Noting that some of Crystal's publishing team helped with the release of her own memoir, she added, "You would have thought that it went through somebody reading it that would be like, 'That's a little bit too similar.'"

Though Holly wished she and Crystal could have just done "our own thing," she admitted it was comforting hearing that the 37-year-old—who was married to Hugh until his death in 2017—had experienced some of the same lows while living at the mansion. 

"A lot of it's been very relieving for me to hear," Holly explained, "even before her book came out when she talks about feeling like she always felt like she had to walk on eggshells or always felt like she was going to have the rug pulled out from her under any moment."

E! News reached out to Crystal's rep for comment but has not heard back. 

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