Crystal Hefner, the widow of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, has publicly urged Jessica Biel to think again about playing his fictional wife in the upcoming Searchlight film Playmates, saying she fears the film may romanticise him.

Jessica Biel’s newest role has drawn an objection from someone with a personal stake in the story. Crystal Hefner, the widow of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, has asked the actor to “please reconsider” appearing in Playmates, a Searchlight Pictures film set in the world of the Playboy Mansion.

The request was reported by Deadline on October 9.

What She Said

According to Deadline, Crystal Hefner shared a screenshot of a direct message she had sent to Biel on Instagram.

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

She went on to describe her own experience of the marriage. “I was actually his wife, and I experienced sexual, emotional, financial and physical abuse in that relationship,” the message said.

Crystal Hefner was married to Hugh Hefner from 2012 until his death in 2017, at the age of 91. Hefner is no longer alive to respond to the claims, which are her account of the marriage.

The Film

Playmates is directed by Lorraine Nicholson. Deadline describes it as a coming-of-age story set in Los Angeles, following Elle, a 13-year-old who treats the Playboy Mansion as her second home and befriends Anna, a young woman hoping to become a Playmate.

Lily-Rose Depp plays Anna and Indiana Elle plays Elle. Bill Pullman plays Hugh Hefner.

Biel’s character is a fictional wife of Hefner. According to Deadline, the role is not based on any of the women he actually married.

No Response Yet

The Deadline report did not include a response from Biel or from Searchlight Pictures. Neither the nature of the script nor the film’s treatment of Hefner has been made public, and Crystal Hefner’s message was framed as a condition: she asked Biel to reconsider “if” the film intends to romanticise him.

The appeal came in the same week that Biel walked the red carpet in New York for Matchbox The Movie, the Apple action film in which she stars with John Cena.

Image: Jessica Biel in 2007. Photo by Maggie via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.