fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #3122 ]

⌈ Secret Post #3122 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

__________________________________________________

02.

[My Name is Earl]

__________________________________________________

03.

__________________________________________________

04.

__________________________________________________

05.

[Veep]

__________________________________________________

06.

[Welcome to Night Vale]

__________________________________________________

07.

[Wes Anderson]

__________________________________________________

08.

[Felicia Day]

__________________________________________________

09.

[Oscar Jarjayes/Rose of Versailles]

__________________________________________________

10.

[Holly Madison, Girls Next Door]

__________________________________________________

11.

(Game of Thrones)

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 025 secrets from Secret Submission Post #446.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hefner is an abusive asshole and I can't deal with people who try to paint him as otherwise.

I enjoyed Holly's book as well, I feel like a lot of criticisms coming out against her are from people who either didn't read or fully understand the book. She fully takes the responsibility that these were her life choices and she's not even that harsh to other women in the book (she even says that ultimately all the women at the mansion are damaged and Hef takes advantage of that, so you can tell she has sympathy even for some of the women she doesn't like.)

I really don't understand how the things Hefner does is legal either. He essentially has contracts to trap women in the mansion and not let them have any freedom. I still can't believe they didn't even get paid for the first season of GND.

It's legal in the sense that you're being paid for your services. If you don't want to follow his rules (which were shitty), you leave and do not get paid. It's abusive and crappy, but it's not illegal. They got screwed on the reality TV deal, but that's a separate issue.

I feel like there could be grounds to at least investigate what was going on or someone could bring a claim to court. I know there are a lot of super shady things in business practices that are completely legal in the United States but a lot of what Holly was talking about felt super wrong to me.

I think you're mistaking "unethical" for "illegal". Lots of technically legal things are shady. Assuming there was an official contract to be a girlfriend (the book didn't make it sound very official, i.e. no paperwork), well, every single employer sets their own rules and hours in the workplace. You can argue that being made to work overtime in unpleasant conditions is unethical, but if you try to bring a claim to court, the judge will simply ask you why you don't quit and find a job more to your liking.

So, what kind of claim would they be bringing to court? You can't sue people for doing legal stuff that you don't like.

But bring unethical labor practices to court is a thing you can do? Just because something is in a contract or common practice in business it does not mean it is free from being challenged. Employers get sued all the time and they even often lose cases when they step over the line.

Like I said I know there are shady business practices that are perfectly legal, I am questioning whether they should go unchallenged or not.

Well, yes, you can. If it breaks a law or is in violation of some code besides your own personal code of ethics. If it does not break a law, then what grounds do you have? Going to court is expensive, people generally don't want to do it unless they're 1) already rich or 2) pretty sure it'll result in winning money to cover their legal costs. Suing people because of your principles can be noble, I guess, but few people can afford to do that.

All employers are going to set your hours and limit your freedoms, that comes with the territory. While you may feel strongly about the rules Hefner set (and I don't disagree with you that they were awful), that doesn't mean it's a prosecutable offense. You can challenge people about it, sure. But in court and expect anyone to give a shit? Probably not.

Well yeah I know your first paragraph is true and that's exactly why a lot of business practices are so unethical, because most people who are the victims of them don't have the resources to fight against them.

Someone like Holly and any other successful former girlfriend MIGHT though. I can't really say what exactly they could bring to court without knowing the ins and outs of everything, but it's completely possible a good lawyer could find a lot that would be debatable even in court.

Anything's possible, but you know... the fact that there have no been NO successful lawsuits is probably a big hint that there isn't anything you could legitimately sue him for. If you agree to take money and perform a shitty job but you could leave the shitty job any time you want, that greatly limits your ability to sue your employer for being shitty.

I still can't say that's true though, I don't know Hefner's entire legal history but if there's truly NO successful lawsuit that still doesn't mean there aren't legit reasons to bring him to court, it just means he's rich and powerful enough (with a decent legal team) to get away with what he gets away with.

Saying "oh you could leave at any time" could be said for ANY job but that doesn't mean employers are free to do whatever they want.

Hefner also has all the classic tells of an abuser and I think that's a big reason why (in addition to not having the resources he has) more women don't seek damages against him. Abusers can fuck you up for life and make you believe you'll never win against them.

Somebody suing Hugh Hefner for girlfriend-related stuff will definitely make the news. Now you're right, this is not to say that there are no legitimate reasons for suing him, but... look at the stats. Think about how many girlfriends he's had, many of them very hungry for money and fame. Think about what a litigious society he lives in. What are the odds that there are grounds for a lawsuit and yet nobody's ever tried it? Very slim, I'd say.

"Saying "oh you could leave at any time" could be said for ANY job but that doesn't mean employers are free to do whatever they want."

Well, sure. But if what they do are entirely within the bounds of the law and/or not provable, like saying mean things to your girlfriends with no witnesses around, this isn't something you can sue people for.

she even says that ultimately all the women at the mansion are damaged and Hef takes advantage of that

Yeah, that doesn't surprise me :(

Like, since people were talking about the twins earlier in the thread, how fucked up does your life have to be that you become willing to do sexually provocative photo shoots with your own twin sister so that dudes can jerk off to the thought of incest and then date a creepy old guy along with that same sister? That's messed up. I always felt especially sorry for them.

Yeah and if Holly's book is accurate they probably had sex with Hef together which is super creepy :(

I think it's the same story as with the other girls though, they were probably not well off and looking to find a career in LA, and Hefner took advantage of whatever situation they were in.

The book strongly suggests that they're in it for the fame and money. That's what they hope to get out of it. They might be fooling themselves, but Holly said as much that a lot of the previous "girlfriends" were pretty predatory, only in it to get what they could get out of Hefner and then leave when they'd had enough.

There is these twin guys who model and have done some really incesty photo shoots all the way up to kissing each other. And I've always found them really hot, but now I'm wondering. Damn it. And I'm usually more aware with my bank material and try to find people who are in it because they legit want to be.

[ SECRET POST #3122 ]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject