Don Cornelius, the creator and host of Soul Train, has been accused of sexual abuse in an episode of Secrets of Playboy, an A&E docuseries examining the seedy underbelly of the famed lifestyle and entertainment magazine. According to Playboy “bunny mother” P.J. Masten, Cornelius once kidnapped and sexually assaulted two female Playboy employees, allegedly holding the young women hostage for multiple days in his home. Cornelius is also said to have physically assaulted both victims, leaving them “bloodied, battered [and] drugged,” per Masten. “It was probably the most horrific story I’ve ever heard at Playboy,” she continued. “This story is the story of a massive cleanup that never hit the press.”
Masten contends that Cornelius, a VIP Playboy member, initially encountered the alleged victims, who were biological sisters, at a party in Hollywood. After inviting the women to his VIP section, Cornelius allegedly requested that they accompany him to a party he was throwing at his home. “These two young girls got in his Rolls-Royce, went up to his house and we didn’t hear from them for three days,” Masten said. “We couldn’t figure out where they were.”
However, one of the victims was able to contact the Playboy Mansion and notify another bunny mother that they were being held at Cornelius’ home and that they were in danger. According to Masten, Joe Piastro, Playboy’s head of security, went to Cornelius’ residence and discovered the victims, who were tied and bound and had been sodomized with wooden objects. Yet, Masten says that Cornelius never faced criminal charges for his alleged actions and was able to continue his VIP membership without incident. “The thing that was so outrageous to me, that made me so angry was that no charges were filed and Don Cornelius’ privileges as a number one VIP were never suspended,” Masten noted. “He was back in the club the following week.”
“I blame myself a lot,” she admitted. “I have such guilt about not coming forward, but I knew that the establishment wouldn’t allow me to come forward. And who’s going to believe me? Nobody’s going to believe me.”
Don Cornelius’ son, Tony Cornelius, has vehemently denied Masten’s allegations, deeming her account of Cornelius as an “unbelievable story without real proof” and salacious in nature. While Don Cornelius, who passed away in 2012, was never investigated for the alleged assault and has never been investigated for sexual abuse, he was arrested and convicted on unrelated domestic violence charges in 2008.