I think the truth lies in-between. Some of these ladies may have actually escorted while others may have had their names falsely used by one or more escorting websites. Even if the ladies did work as escorts I don't hold it against them. They are merely offering a service, not forcing anything on anyone. If somebody wishes to use their services it's up to them and others who don't want to have anything to do with them can simply ignore them. As for the moral implications of breaking commitment in a marriage or a relationship I have always believed it's the complete responsibility of the individual who is in the relationship. If a claim is made that a man strayed from his marriage because he had such a beautiful female escort made available to him then in my view it only shows that this man in question has a tendency to stray and does not value commitment. There is no blame on the escort who is only providing a service, a service that those not committed should be able to use without any moral obligations. So if someone claims that one of my favorite Playmates is a escort I might be a little taken aback at first but I still won't hold it against her.
Also I say is escorting any worse than being Hef's "girlfriend"? I have reasons to believe that being with Hef is much worse. He does not advocate safe sex. As an escort a woman is likely to earn more than the kind of money he pays to his girls. It's also possible that she can escort secretly while being with Hef will immediately put her in the limelight. As one of Hef's girls she will be a slave to his whims and fancies while as an escort she is more likely to meet people who look up to her. Effectively both are prostitution but I don't look down upon it. It's just a woman's own choice if she wants to do one or the other or both or neither and in any case she should have the right to make her own choice without having to answer to anyone else.
Note that I am not by any means saying that all Playmates are Hef's girls but there is reason to believe that a significant number are. There are some who should and would have made it on pure merit while there are others who wouldn't have succeeded if they hadn't done special favors for the boss (and others associated with him in various capacities). We can probably name a few of each kind with some conviction but there is no way we can make exhaustive lists of each kind. Then there are some who we know were associated with Hef and that might have helped their careers but looking at them there is no reason why they wouldn't have made it on pure merit. So all things considered those of us who love our Playmates and other nude models have no reason to stop doing so. Let's value them for what they gave us in front of the curtain because in most cases at least we do not know what really happened behind the curtain and speculating about it wouldn't be fair to these ladies.
As for Hef himself I know a large number of people who admire him but I wish anyone who has anything to do with him and his creation(s) would at least see the video whose link is given below after which they are free to draw their own conclusions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-bphul72uE