Hugh Hefner's Widow Asks Jessica Biel to Reconsider Playing His Wife - Variety

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Crystal Harris, who was married to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner until his death in 2017, is asking Jessica Biel to reconsider playing a fictional version of Hefner’s wife in the upcoming film “ Playmates.”

After Biel’s casting was announced, Harris posted her message to Biel on Instagram, saying “Please reconsider playing Hugh Hefner’s wife if this film intends to romanticize him or the Playboy world. I was actually his wife, and I experienced sexual, emotional, financial and physical abuse in that relationship.”

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Lorraine Nicholson, the daughter of Jack Nicholson, is writing and directing the Searchlight film that also stars Bill Pullman as Hefner as well as Lily-Rose Depp and “The Housemaid’s” Indiana Elle.

“Many other woman have come forward with allegations of rape, coercion, drugging and exploitation as well,” Harris wrote. “There are also deeply troubling concerns involving minors. I hope everyone involved this film takes the time to listen the women who lived it before helping Hollywood turn it back into nostalgia.”

After Hefner’s death, Harris revealed her experiences at the “toxic” Playboy mansion in her 2024 memoir “Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself.”

According to the synopsis, the “Playmates” movie revolves around "Elle (Elle), a 13-year-old know-it-all who considers the Playboy Mansion her second home, and meets Anna (Depp), one of seven hopefuls vying to be Playmate of the Month. The two form an unlikely friendship and try to help each other get what the other wants most, a magazine cover and a boy." Nicholson has written for magazines about her childhood experiences at the Playboy Mansion.

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