Hugh Hefner Comes Out In Support Of Bill Cosby…Sort Of

Bill Cosby may have one ally in his recent slurry of sexual abuse allegations.

In a statement released Saturday, December 6, Hefner commented on the scandal surrounding Bill Cosby’s extramarital affairs and alleged sexual assaults, specifically the assault that allegedly occurred at the famed Playboy Mansion owned by Hefner.

“Bill Cosby has been a good friend for many years and the mere thought of these allegations is truly saddening. I would never tolerate this kind of behavior, regardless of who was involved.”

Hefner’s comments may center on the most recent allegation made by Judy Huth. According to Huth, in 1974, Cosby got her drunk, then took her to the Playboy Mansion and sexually assaulted her. At the time, Huth was only 15-years-old.

Hefner’s comments may also be in relation to P. J. Matsen, a former Playboy bunny. Matsen worked at the Playboy club in Chicago in the late 1970s. The Daily Mail reports that Matsen first met Cosby while working at the club. The two had lunch and were supposed to have dinner at the Whitehall Hotel, but Matsen says that when she arrived, Cosby was accompanied by four friends. At that point, Cosby gave her a cocktail, and Matsen says she remembers nothing of the rest of the night.

“The next thing I knew, it was 4 o’clock in the morning. I woke up in a bed naked, bruised. He was laying next to me, and I slithered out of the bed… I got myself together, I went downstairs, I got in a cab, and I went home.”

Matsen says that when she told her supervisor about the encounter the next day, he reminded her that Hefner and Cosby were best friends and suggested she keep her mouth shut.

Matsen and Huth may not be the only women connecting Bill Cosby to Hugh Hefner’s Playboy empire. According to Matsen, at least 12 former Playboy bunnies were drugged and sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby, but all are too afraid or ashamed to come forward.

Matsen and Huth’s accusations bring the total number of women allegedly sexually assaulted to 20, including model Janice Dickinson. If Matsen’s allegations about Cosby’s sexual assaults on Playboy bunnies is true, that may mean as many as 35 women were sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby between 1965 (when former talent agency secretary Kristina Ruehli alleges she was sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby) and 2004 (when director of operations for the Temple University women’s basketball team Andrea Constand alleges she was sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby).

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the LAPD has opened an investigation into Huth’s claims and plans to search the Playboy Mansion, though it is not immediately clear what evidence they hope to find.