OFF BEAT: Man says Playboy mansion favors women, files class action lawsuit

Is the Playboy Mansion unfair to men? That’s the assertion in a class action lawsuit filed against the Playboy facility in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles, according to news reports.

Steve Frye is unhappy because at the annual Leather Meets Lace function, he says women were not required to pay the $1,000 price of admission.

He is claiming sex discrimination and has filed a lawsuit seeking class action status on behalf of the men who paid the large admittance price.

In fact, according to a news report, female guests who were not deemed up to Playboy beauty standards also were charged the $1,000.

Playboy Enterprises International Inc., which owns the grounds, claims it did not set the admission price, and only rents out the mansion to others. The party, which took place Oct. 1, was a charity event benefiting ex-playmate Jenny McCarthy’s Generation Rescue for Autism Awareness, according to another news report.

The lawsuit states that the preferential treatment “promotes harmful, negative stereotypes.”

That’s pretty egalitarian language from someone who shelled out $1,000 to see half-dressed women. Of course, if Mr. Frye had shown up for the event wearing bunny ears and a tail, maybe he wouldn’t have had to pay admission.