Hugh Hefner's son Cooper says 'it's tough to watch' his father 'struggle'
Cooper Hefner admits it’s difficult to see his famous father “struggle” physically as he gets older, but he’s counting his blessings.
“It’s tough to watch him struggle,” Cooper said about Hugh Hefner in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, and added, “but I’m just happy it’s physical and not mental.”
The article notes that the notorious playboy, who is contending with back trouble, doesn't want to be photographed strolling with his walker and fiddling with hearing aids. However, he still takes visits from his oldest friends for weekly dinners and film screenings, and he sometimes gives notes on the magazine.
This past April, the legendary Playboy founder turned 91. And just days ahead of his 91st birthday, Hugh’s youngest son, Cooper, opened up about his father’s health after reports swirled that his health was declining.
“My dad has always made the joke that if the mansion was your house, why would you want to leave?” Cooper told E! News. “The reality is he has a really bad back — that happens when you’re 90 — and he is enjoying life at the mansion,” which sold for $100 million last August.
Now, Cooper, 25, is following in his father’s footsteps. He was recently made chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises and is making plans to remake Playboy for his own generation.
“Creating something that resonates with my generation and the generation that comes after mine is how I’ll measure my accomplishments,” he told THR.
Despite being a six-season hit from 2005-10 on E!, Cooper admitted that Girls Next Door — which documented Hugh’s life inside the mansion with former girlfriends Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson Baskett — “collected a young audience, but didn’t do a good job of conveying how Playboy is both playful and sophisticated.”
Though the brand has since brought back nudity after then-Playboy CEO Scott Flanders announced in fall 2015 that the magazine would no longer publish nude photoshoots of women, there’s one specific person the magazine won’t be featuring anytime soon.
“We don’t respect the guy,” Cooper said of President Donald Trump. “There’s a personal embarrassment because Trump is somebody who has been on our cover.”
