Crystal Hefner urges Jessica Biel to rethink playing Hugh Hefner's wife in Playmates

Crystal Hefner has reportedly made a direct appeal to Jessica Biel, asking her to reconsider her role as the wife of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner in the upcoming film Playmates. According to reports, the request comes from an insider close to the situation and has added a fresh wrinkle to a project that is already drawing attention.

All you need to know about Playmates

Biel was announced as part of the cast earlier this year, joining Bill Pullman, who plays Hefner, and Lily-Rose Depp. The film marks the feature writing and directing debut of Lorraine Nicholson. The story follows a 13-year-old girl who treats the Playboy Mansion as her second home and forms an unlikely friendship with an aspiring Playmate competing for the title of Playmate of the Month.

Biel's character is fictional. She is not based on any of Hefner's three real wives, a point that may matter as the debate unfolds.

Crystal Hefner, who was married to Hugh Hefner from 2012 until his death in 2017, has become one of the most outspoken critics of life inside the Mansion. Her 2024 memoir, Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself, became a bestseller and painted a far darker picture than the glamorous image the brand long promoted. She has publicly described the marriage as emotionally abusive and spoken about the control and objectification that defined the household.

In that context, her request is unsurprising. Having lived the role that Biel is about to portray, albeit in fictionalised form, she may feel that a big-studio production risks softening or glamorizing a history she says caused real harm.

Neither Biel nor the studio has publicly responded to the reports, and there is no indication the casting will change. Productions of this kind often face scrutiny when they touch real institutions and the people still living with their legacies, and Playmates is positioned as a story told through a young girl's eyes rather than a straightforward biopic. Still, with Hefner's widow now speaking out, the film is likely to face closer questions about how it treats the Mansion's reality.

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