Cooper Hefner, the son of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner, is speaking out about President Donald Trump, saying he is “embarrassed” the magazine had him on a cover.
In a profile interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises reflects on the direction he wants to take the publication, including returning the adult men's magazine to nude photos.
In October 2015, Playboy announced it would no longer publish naked photos, but the decision was reversed by Hefner in February.
"I'll be the first to admit that the way in which the magazine portrayed nudity was dated, but removing it entirely was a mistake," he said in a statement on Twitter at the time. "Nudity was never the problem because nudity isn't a problem. Today we're taking our identity back and reclaiming who we are."
“Nudity hadn't been the problem -- it was how it’d been presented,” Hefner told THR.
At one point, Hefner says that although Trump is a fan of his father, the Hefners do not feel the same way.
“We don’t respect the guy,” he told THR. “There’s a personal embarrassment because Trump is somebody who has been on our cover.”
Although he does not want to be associated with his father’s reputation as a playboy, THR reported that the two have “deeply felt progressive politics.”
“I’m a liberal, and I have a real issue with the conservative side feeling like they own the military,” he said. Hefner joined the California State Military Reserve in January and his father served in the U.S. Army in from 1944 to 1946.
Hefner expanded on his thoughts on Trump in a Twitter thread Thursday.
“Why am I embarrassed about this cover? Because we promote a philosophy that encourages ALL individuals to choose the life they want to live,”’ he said. “If the 1990 team at Playboy would have known Trump’s platform than the President would have never found his way onto our cover. But hindsight is 20/20 and the fight on the intellectual battlefield and for what really makes America great rages on.”
Hefner said that he will aim to maintain freedom of expression within the publication.
“As long as I’m at Playboy we will be on that battlefield, on the right side of history, fighting for freedom of expression and choice.”
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