Holly Madison says she considered suicide during her relationship with Hugh Hefner: 'I was in this cycle of misery'

Holly Madison says she considered suicide during her relationship with Hugh Hefner: ‘I was in this cycle of misery’

]

Holly Madison said she once considered suicide during her relationship with Hugh Hefner .

said she once considered during her relationship with . “I was in this cycle of misery,” the reality star said in a new episode of " Secrets of Playboy ."

Holly Madison said she once considered suicide during a particularly difficult time in her relationship with Hugh Hefner.

“The drama between me and the other women became so bad. Like, imagine having sex with somebody in a room full of women who hate you and you know they’re all talking shit about you,” Madison recalled in a new episode of A&E’s “Secrets of Playboy” series.

According to Madison, the conflict between her and other women in the mansion caused her to become depressed.

“There was a point where I felt really low. Like I didn’t feel like I had any options,” Madison recalled of her relationship with Hefner, who died of natural causes in 2017 at the age of 91.

“There was a point in time, a couple years in, after we had gone out, and after we had all been in the bedroom, everybody was leaving and walking out, and I was in the bathtub, and I just wanted to drown myself,” she continued.

Madison added: “I just felt like I was in this cycle of misery. And those feelings would never last long, but you have those moments, like, ‘What did I gain from this experience?’”

The “Down the Rabbit Hole” author went on to reveal, however, that she “always had that faith” that “something” would make her experience at the Playboy mansion worthwhile.

Denise Truscello/WireImage

Madison, who lived at the mansion as Hefner’s main girlfriend from 2001 to 2008, has been open about her struggles with Hefner and other negative aspects of her life at the Los Angeles home.

In another clip from “Secrets of Playboy,” the reality star called the atmosphere at the mansion “cult-like.” Madison said that she and the other women “were all kind of gaslit” and expected to think of Hefner “as this really good guy.”

“And you started to feel like, ‘Oh, he’s not what they say in the media. He’s just a nice man,’” she said.

She went on to reveal that the women living at the Playboy mansion had a 9 o’clock curfew each night, were encouraged to “not have friends over,” and weren’t “really allowed to leave” unless it was for a major holiday.

Madison even said that Hefner told her to quit her waitressing job, since it made him “jealous.” She then relied on the $1,000 per week allowance that the women at the mansion were given as her main source of income.

Representatives for Hefner’s estate didn’t immediately respond to Insider’s previous requests for comment, though Hefner’s son Cooper Hefner tweeted a statement in defense of his father on Monday ahead of the docuseries’ premiere.

Cooper called the “salacious stories” about his father “a case study of regret becoming revenge.”

In a statement shared previously with Insider, Playboy emphasized its commitment to supporting and uplifting women.

“Today’s Playboy is not Hugh Hefner’s Playboy . We trust and validate these women and their stories and we strongly support those individuals who have come forward to share their experiences,” the statement read in part. “As a brand with sex positivity at its core, we believe safety, security, and accountability are paramount. The most important thing we can do right now is actively listen and learn from their experiences.”

“Secrets of Playboy” premiered Monday on A&E. You can watch the trailer below.

Andrea Bocelli on daughter Virginia’s talents ‘Artistic gymnastics at a competitive level’

]

Back in 2020, Andrea Bocelli put on a live-streamed performance called Believe in Christmas at the Theatre Regio of Parma. The special event also marked the professional debut of his then 8-year-old daughter Virginia Bocelli. She joined her father on stage, bringing along an acoustic guitar for him before they sang a duet of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah together.

The sensational performance has since be watched over 18.5 million times on YouTube and Virginia has sung the track with her father numerous times around the world in the year since.

Most recently they performed this past Christmas before President Biden at the White House with Andrea’s son Matteo Bocelli, who is releasing his debut album later this year.

But what about Virginia? Will she follow in her father and brother’s footsteps and become a professional singer as an adult too?

Does she even want to? Express.co.uk spoke exclusively with the Italian tenor himself to find out.

Try to Spot Chris Martin Crashing Dakota Johnson’s Sundance Interview

]

Watch : Chris Martin Calls Dakota Johnson His “Universe” at Coldplay Concert

Just call Chris Martin “The Scientist” of virtual interviews.

As the 2022 Sundance Film Festival carries on with virtual events, the Coldplay front man briefly found himself participating in a panel with his girlfriend, Dakota Johnson.

On Sunday, Jan. 23, Dakota was preparing to discuss her upcoming film, Cha Cha Real Smooth, when she appeared to need some Zoom assistance. After a brief delay, the camera started working and Chris appeared in the shot. “Hello!” the singer said before rushing out of frame. “Welcome, welcome. Peace!”

While Dakota, writer, director and co-star Cooper Raiff, and co-star Vanessa Burghardt couldn’t stop laughing, moderator Charlie Sextro didn’t miss a beat.

“It’s great to see the three of you together,” he said. “Loving the film and loving seeing the three of you all together on one screen.”

Cha Cha Real Smooth tells the story of Andrew (Cooper), a man in his 20s who works as a bar mitzvah party host. While striking up a friendship with a mother, Domino (Dakota), and her daughter (Vanessa), who has autism, he finds himself in the midst of a potentially complicated love story.

Lerner Publishing Group Receives Caldecott Honor, Five Other American Library Association Youth Media Awards

]

UNSPEAKABLE by Carole Boston Weatherford and Illustrated by Floyd Cooper Named a Caldecott Honor Book, a Sibert Honor Book, and is the Winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards for Author and Illustrator; WHERE I BELONG by Marcia Argueta Mickelson Named a Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Honor Book; CLASSIFIED by Traci Sorell and Illustrated by Natasha Donovan Receives an American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award Honor

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Floyd Cooper

A Caldecott Honor Book, a Sibert Honor Book, and Winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards for Author and Illustrator

Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jan. 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Lerner Publishing Group has received six 2022 American Library Association (ALA) Youth Media Awards. The ALA announced virtually today that Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre is the recipient of a Caldecott Honor, a Sibert Honor, and is the winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards for Author and Illustrator. Where I Belong is the recipient of a Pura Belpré Honor and Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer is the recipient of an American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award (AIYLA) Honor.

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, written by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (1956-2021), and published in 2021 by Carolrhoda Books®, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group™, is the recipient of a Caldecott Honor, awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American picture Book for children. The book was also named a Robert F. Sibert Informational Honor Book, which is awarded to the author and illustrator of the most distinguished informational picture book for children published in the United States. In addition, Carole Boston Weatherford is the 2022 Coretta Scott King Book Awards Author Winner and Floyd Cooper is the 2022 Coretta Scott King Book Awards Illustrator Winner. The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are awarded annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.

Story continues

Unspeakable illustrator Floyd Cooper passed away in July 2021. Although Floyd was honored with many awards and accolades throughout his career, this is his first Caldecott Honor, as well as the first Caldecott Honor for Lerner Publishing Group. Unspeakable was personal to Floyd as he brought the stories that his grandfather told him about the Greenwood District to life. As Floyd said, “Everything I knew about this tragedy came from Grandpa; not a single teacher at school ever spoke about it. . . Now the same way my grandpa told the story to us, I share it here with you.”

Released in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Unspeakable tells the story of a thriving African American community that was destroyed by a mob of armed white Tulsans. They looted homes and businesses and burned them to the ground as Black families fled. The police did nothing to protect Greenwood, and as many as three hundred African Americans were killed. More than eight thousand were left homeless. News of the Tulsa Race Massacre—one of the worst incidents of racial violence in US history—was largely suppressed, and no official investigation occurred for seventy-five years. Unspeakable provides a sensitive and powerful introduction to the Tulsa Race Massacre, helping young readers understand the events of the past so we can move toward a better future for all.

Where I Belong, written by Marcia Argueta Mickelson and published in 2021 by Carolrhoda Lab®, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group™, is the recipient of a Pura Belpré Honor, which is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. Named one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Teen Books of 2021, Where I Belong introduces readers to Millie Vargas, an immigrant teen forced to fight for her family, her future, and the place she calls home. In a starred review, School Library Journal says Where I Belong is “[N]ot to be missed. There is truth on every page—about love, restraint, and integrity.”

Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer, written by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Natasha Donovan, and published in 2021 by Millbrook Press™, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group™, is a 2022 American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award Honor Picture Book. Awarded biennially, the AIYLA identifies and honors the very best writing and illustrations by Native Americans and Indigenous peoples of North America. Named an Orbis Pictus Honor Book and one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Children’s Books of 2021, Classified traces Ross’s journey from being the only girl in her high school math class to becoming an accomplished engineer and leader. With engrossing prose and striking illustrations, Classified showcases Cherokee values including education, working cooperatively, remaining humble, and helping ensure equal opportunity and education for all.

“We are thrilled to receive six ALA awards and honors in the same year,” said Adam Lerner, Publisher and CEO of Lerner Publishing Group. “Our commitment to diversity shines through with amazing stories and artwork from Marcia, Traci, Natasha and Carole. These awards are also bittersweet after Floyd’s passing. Even though Floyd left us too soon, we will be forever grateful for his artistic talents and the tremendous influence and impact he had on the children’s book industry. In our opinion, Unspeakable was the masterpiece that Floyd was born to create.”

On May 6, 2022, Lerner Publishing Group will celebrate Floyd Cooper Day along with the Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader. The first annual event will be held during Children’s Book Week to honor Floyd’s inspiring and powerful work as an award-winning illustrator and author.

For free discussion guides and more information about Unspeakable, Where I Belong, and Classified visit lernerbooks.com.

About Carolrhoda Books®

Carolrhoda Books®, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group™, creates high-quality fiction and nonfiction for children and young adults. Our picture books spark children’s imaginations and offer new ways of looking at the world. Our middle-grade books stand out not only for their quality, but also for the breadth of genres encompassed, from coming-of-age stories to exceptional nonfiction to mysteries.

About Carolrhoda Lab®

Carolrhoda Lab® is dedicated to distinctive, provocative, boundary-pushing fiction for teens. From Michael L. Printz Award Honorees to a National Book Award Finalist, Carolrhoda Lab novels probe and examine the young-adult condition one novel at a time, affording YA authors and readers an opportunity to explore and experiment with thoughts, ideas, and paradigms in the human condition.

About Millbrook Press®

Millbrook Press™ publishes informational picture books and photo-driven titles for grades K–5. Our authors and illustrators approach curricular topics with fresh perspectives, unusual points of view, and a good dose of humor. Our fact-filled books draw readers in with engaging writing, high-quality photographs, and a wide variety of illustration styles. We believe nonfiction should be distinctive and memorable, both inside and out.

About Lerner Publishing Group™

Lerner Publishing Group™ creates high-quality fiction and nonfiction for children and young adults. Founded in 1959, Lerner Publishing Group is one of the nation’s largest independent children’s book publishers with fifteen imprints and divisions: Lerner Publications, Millbrook Press™, Carolrhoda Books®, Twenty-First Century Books™, Graphic Universe™, Darby Creek™, Kar-Ben Publishing™, Carolrhoda Lab®, LernerClassroom™, Hungry Tomato®, ediciones Lerner, First Avenue Editions™, Lerner Digital™, Zest Books™, and Lerner Publisher Services™.

Follow Lerner Publishing Group online:

Blog: lernerbooks.blog

Twitter: @LernerBooks

Facebook: Lerner Publishing Group

Instagram: lernerbooks

To purchase UUnspeakable, Where I Belong, or Classified please visit your local bookstore, order by phone at 800-328-4929, or visit us online at lernerbooks.com.

Attachment

CONTACT: Lindsay Matvick Lerner Publishing Group 800-328-4929 lmatvick@lernerbooks.com

Local American Legion collecting supplies for military in Ukraine

]

The Daily Beast

Facebook/Alicia WittA month after her parents’ shock deaths from hypothermia, actor Alicia Witt took to Facebook Tuesday to detail how the preventable tragedy has left her reeling and struggling with what she could have done to save them. In a raw statement released Tuesday, the 1984 Dune actor and Orange Is the New Black star wrote that “i had no idea that their heat had gone out. i will never understand how or why they made the choice not to tell me this, not to let me help them with this. my