Dec. 10: Hugh Hefner, left, and model Crystal Harris at a party celebrating the release of the book "Hugh Hefner's Playboy" a limited edition anthology by Taschen in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)
LOS ANGELES – As one of the pioneers of sexual expression, Hugh Hefner has a wealth of knowledge to draw on when it comes to the ever-evolving Tiger Woods sex scandal. But despite rampant rumors on the Web last week that the men's magazine mogul condoned Woods' behavior, he was quick to set the record straight.
"There are two great, false rumors this week on the Internet related to me. One is that I'm dead. The other one is the notion that I somehow approved of his (Woods') behavior because I said that I was not surprised by it. But I don't approve of it. I just was not surprised by it," Hef told Tarts at the release of Benedikt Taschen's "Illustrated Autobiography: Hugh Hefner’s Playboy" in Beverly Hills on Thursday evening.
"The reason that I wasn't surprised is that he’s traveling the world. He's a handsome, young guy and beautiful ladies are throwing themselves at him. You never know the circumstances of a personal relationship or a marriage and how well it worked and I think that the immorality of infidelity is the lie. It isn't really the sex. It's the cheating."
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So does Hef think life would be less complicated for high-profile figures if they simply just refrained from tying-the-knot altogether?
"It's an individual decision, it works for some people," he responded. “I was married for eight years and was faithful to it the entire time. And, I certainly had plenty of temptations. But, was I happier then? No," he said laughing, "I wasn't."
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And the 83-year-old better stay on his best behavior because his number one girlfriend, Crystal Harris, certainly won't put up with any wandering ways.
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"I wish everyone would just drop (the Tiger Woods scandal already). They've been talking about it for so long, but I guess it's getting way too much attention," Harris said. "He messed up and if I [were] his wife, I wouldn't stay with him!"
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And it seems Hef is pretty content with three leading ladies and has no need for any more blondes.
"I think it's getting more serious here,” Hef said as he looked over at Harris and his Shannon twins. "No more girlfriends. I think I'm very happy here."
And despite the many, many milestones the magazine king has made over his long career, he thinks Americans in general are too uptight about sexual expression.
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“I think we're very hypocritical about it. Before Playboy, we were really repressed. It's not as bad now as it was then in the '50s. But we’re very hypocritical about it,” Hef added. “And the very notion that obscenity is related to sex is silly. The very obscene things on this planet have little to do with sex. They have to do with war and bigotry and death and killing. They have nothing to do with sex.”
And despite the media saturation and hoopla surrounding Tiger Woods over the past couple of weeks, apparently “Playboy” pin-up Pamela Anderson has had her head in the clouds.
“I have no idea about [it]. I know that’s terrible,” Anderson told Tarts when we asked for her thoughts. “I don’t [know] anything about it.”
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