LISA Guerrero, journalist and guest host of A&E's Secrets of Playboy, has revealed what she really thinks about the men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine.
In an exclusive conversation with The U.S. Sun, the chief investigative correspondent for Inside Edition reflected on her experiences with Playboy amid her shocking interviews with women who also posed for the magazine.
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Guerrero's hosted episodes in the second season of Secrets of Playboy, including the August 7 airing of Athletes Exposed, have seen several bombshell confessions from former world champion boxer Mia St. John, former tennis star Ashley Harkleroad, and former Baltimore Colts cheerleader Andrea Mann.
Guerrero hosted the final two episodes of the first season, which featured emotional recounts of consequences some women faced as a result of posing in Playboy that saw critical and audience approval, per Rotten Tomatoes.
She told The U.S. Sun that she was approached to host a long time before the series began moving forward, given her history with the publication.
"I was actually approached several years ago when the concept of this Playboy documentary series was percolating with Andrea Dean, who was the director of the first season," Guerrero said.
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Around the same time, the award-winning investigative reporter had begun writing her now-published memoir, Warrior: My Path to Being Brave, in which she detailed elements of her past with Playboy on her way to a prominent journalism career.
Guerrero accepted an offer to pose for the magazine's January 2006 cover.
The reflection, through both the book and the show, left Guerrero with "mixed feelings" about it all, she said.
“At the same time, I was writing my memoir, and part of my memoir is about my relationship with Playboy because I had been on the cover in January 2006, and I had some really mixed feelings about it,” she said.
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She noted that posing for the magazine resulted in different experiences for her and several women.
Guerrero told The U.S. Sun that her decision to pose was "to get to the next level of my career,” as she was already an established figure in sports journalism at the time.
"I thought that would help, that the platform that Playboy provided as a cover model would help me get to the next level of my career,” she said.
Guerrero noted it as a considerable risk — but claimed it ultimately paid off.
It garnered new opportunities in the journalism space, including a domino effect that led to her goal of working with Inside Edition, where she has since conducted over 600 investigations.
"These are investigations I wouldn't have done had I not posed for Playboy,” the chief investigative correspondent said.
As a result, Guerrero said she felt she was able to benefit in a big way from being a Playboy cover girl, despite the known backlash many women received from doing so.
“I felt like I used Playboy rather than Playboy using me,” she told The U.S. Sun.
Before posing for the cover in 2006, Guerrero already had a history with Playboy from her early 20s, when she signed on to fitness campaigns as a young actress and model.
Guerrero quickly left the brand to pursue a journalism career but said her first interaction with Playboy and the return cover shoot left her in a position of empathy for guests on Secrets of Playboy.
"My connection with Playboy has really helped me to have empathy for the women," she said.
"We all come to the brand for different reasons. We all have had different consequences.”
Those varying consequences will be explored in different ways as the second season of Secrets of Playboy continues on A&E, according to Guerrero.
"The seasons are very different from each other,” she said.
"Both did a great job of, I think, really tapping into the women's journeys and why they chose to align themselves with Playboy.”
Guerrero added that season two continues to touch on "what happened to them during that experience and what the ramifications have been in their life since then.”
The investigative reporter noted that the show contributes to an ongoing conversation about women's beauty standards and hypocrisy toward those who pose for the magazine.
"What I want people to really think about, and that we really break down in the series is, 'Why was it OK in society for men to read Playboy, but it wasn't OK for women to pose for Playboy?'” she said.
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"That's the hypocrisy we're getting at, and I think we're exploring.”
Secrets of Playboy premieres back-to-back episodes Mondays at 10pm ET and 11pm ET on A&E.
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