Hugh Hefner’s Widow Makes Desperate Plea to Jessica Biel to Drop Out of Playboy Movie

Crystal Harris, the widow of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, has publicly urged Jessica Biel to reconsider her decision to star in the upcoming film Playmates, which explores the world of the Playboy Mansion. Harris warned that the movie risks romanticizing Hefner’s legacy, accusing him of sexual, emotional, financial, and physical abuse.

Jessica Biel will play Hefner’s wife, although her character is fictional and is not based on any of the media mogul’s three real-life wives. Bill Pullman will portray Hefner, while Lily-Rose Depp will play a Playboy model who dreams of becoming the magazine’s Playmate of the Month.

After the film was announced, the 40-year-old Harris sent Biel a private message on Instagram urging the actress to walk away from the role. The widow then shared their exchange with her three million followers.

“Please reconsider playing Hugh Hefner’s ‘wife’ if this movie intends to romanticize him or the world of Playboy,” she wrote to the actress.

“I was actually his wife and experienced sexual, emotional, financial, and physical abuse in that relationship. Many other women have also come forward with allegations of rape, coercion, drugging, and exploitation,” Harris added.

Former Playboy model and journalist Lisa Guerrero also voiced her support for Harris’s position.

“Any attempt to whitewash this man or portray him in a more sympathetic light is too much,” she wrote.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Harris was even more outspoken, describing Hefner as a “narcissistic, misogynistic pornographer” who, she claimed, systematically mistreated and exploited women.

She also opened up about her own experiences, saying that her marriage to the media mogul had turned her into “an empty shell of a person.”

“I wasn’t a human being to him. He didn’t ‘see’ me. Women were objects to him,” Harris said.

The widow admitted that she has not yet read the Playmates screenplay. However, she urged the filmmakers and the studio to present an honest portrayal of Hefner’s life and his impact on women rather than creating yet another glamorous story about a man who spent years carefully cultivating his own myth.

The film is directed by Lorrain Nicholson. According to Deadline, the project is inspired by her own experiences growing up in Hollywood and visiting the Playboy Mansion as a child.

The story of Playmates centers on 13-year-old Elle, a confident girl who considers the Playboy Mansion her second home. There, she meets Anna, played by Lily-Rose Depp, one of seven women vying to become the magazine’s Playmate of the Month. The two form an unexpected friendship, helping each other pursue their ambitions: landing a magazine cover and winning the heart of a young man.

Crystal Harris married Hugh Hefner on New Year’s Eve in 2012. She was 26 at the time, while the Playboy founder was 86. She became his third and final wife.

The couple remained together until Hefner’s death in 2017, at the age of 91. Two years later, Harris published a revealing memoir detailing her life at the Playboy Mansion and her marriage to the media mogul.