Crystal Hefner has asked Jessica Biel to reconsider joining Playmates, warning that the film should not turn Hugh Hefner or the Playboy world into something romantic. She shared a screenshot of an Instagram DM she sent before publication of the news, making her objection public and direct.
That request lands now because Playmates is already drawing attention for its setup: a Searchlight film written and directed by Lorraine Nicholson, set in LA, and centered on a coming-of-age story around the Playboy Mansion. Biel is attached to play Hugh Hefner’s wife in the film, even though the role is described as fictional and not based on any of Hefner’s three wives.
Crystal Hefner said she was actually Hugh Hefner’s wife and lived through sexual, emotional, financial and physical abuse in that relationship. She also said many other women have come forward with allegations of rape, coercion, drugging and exploitation, and added that there are deeply troubling concerns involving minors. Her message to Biel was plain: please reconsider playing the role if the film intends to romanticize him or the world around him.
The objection is sharper because it is not only about one casting choice. After Hugh Hefner died at age 91 in 2017, Crystal Hefner began speaking publicly about the toxic environment of the Playboy Mansion and what she said happened there. She is now trying to shape how that history is portrayed on screen, arguing that the women in the story should not be used to soften the man at its center.
Playmates follows a 13-year-old know-it-all named Elle, played by Indiana Elle, who sees the Playboy Mansion as her second home. During her time there, she meets Anna, played by Lily-Rose Depp, one of seven hopefuls competing to become Playmate of the Month, and the two try to help each other get what the other wants most. Bill Pullman is playing Hugh Hefner, while Biel’s part remains a fictional one, but Crystal Hefner wants the film to end with empowerment rather than nostalgia. Whether Biel stays attached is still the unanswered part.
