Down The Rabbit Hole

Content Warning: This section discusses women’s objectification and sexual intercourse.

Tell-all exposes like Down the Rabbit Hole traffic in details that might be shocking and embarrassing to the people or organizations discussed. For this reason, Holly changes certain first names and avoids using surnames for some of the people whom she discusses. Moreover, Holly often tries to get readers to grasp her points by implication, as opposed to explicitly stating them. Both strategies could be an attempt to avoid lawsuits: if authors avoid drawing a specific conclusion, and instead suggest that conclusion as one among several possibilities, then they cannot be held libel for what they merely imply. Obscuring others’ identities is likewise a useful strategy for avoiding libel or defamation claims.

Holly could also be refraining from making direct accusations for fear that doing so will seem like bragging or position her as judgmental and self-righteous. For instance, Holly twice describes Hefner’s diminished sexual prowess. In the process, she implies that he fails to live up to his reputation as a great lover. Similarly, when Holly discusses rumors that particular Playmates and girlfriends are performing sexual favors overseas in exchange for large sums of money, she implies that some of these women were sex workers, but that she definitely was not. By stating that she vetoed her chance to do the same, Holly further implies that she finds such work abhorrent. In yet another example, she describes how the ferocity of the Mean Girls’ attacks on her increases  as she becomes more important to Hefner. By implication, Holly suggests that the Mean Girls are extremely jealous of her. Holly’s implied messages contain a great many insightful revelations about Hefner, the mansion, and all of the people that Holly encounters throughout her journey.