Playboy Magazine Is Not Long for This World

We’re just two days into the New Year and I’m here to report the saddest story of 2018.

Playboy magazine might be shutting down.

Ben Kohn, Playboy’s controlling shareholder, told The Wall Street Journal that he wants to focus on “The World of Playboy.” That means partnering with nightclubs and casinos and slapping the name “Playboy” on them.

“I’m not sure that print is necessarily the best way to communicate to our consumer going forward,” said Kohn.

Kohn’s private-equity firm Rizvi Traverse invested $207 million into the company in 2011. They have one year to buy Hefner’s 35 percent stake. When they invested, they promised to keep the magazine alive for as long as Hefner was alive. As we all know, Hefner is no longer with us.

It seems like most within the magazine portion of the company figured this change would come once Hefner passed. A former staffer told the New York Post, “(Hefner) might not have been highly involved in the day-to-day, just him being alive served as a shield. And those of us working there always assumed that they would shut the magazine down the second he passed away.”

Some things just should not be messed with. Like Eggos. You should always leggo my Eggo and you should not stop producing Playboy. Sure, they haven’t had a major celebrity as the centerfold in years and porn is easily available online now, but there’s something sacred about Playboy. Just seeing it in that plastic sleeve at the bookstore lets you know that, “This magazine is special. You can’t grab it and flip through it here at the bookstore. You can to purchase it and hide it from your parents.”

Someone start an online petition to save Playboy magazine. Those always work. Or start a hashtag. #SaveMagazineBoobs. Let’s get it trending. GO!