Hugh Hefner’s widow, Crystal Harris, is asking Jessica Biel not to portray a fictional version of the Playboy founder’s wife in the upcoming movie “Playmates.”
Harris, who was married to Hefner from 2012 until his death in 2017, posted on Instagram on October 8 a screenshot of a text she sent to Biel urging her to give up her role as Hefner’s fictional wife.
“If this movie is intended to romanticize her or the Playboy world, please reconsider playing Hugh Hefner’s ‘wife,'” Harris wrote in a message to Biel, according to a screenshot he shared on Instagram. he wrote.
“I was actually his wife and I was subjected to sexual, emotional, financial and physical abuse in this relationship. Many women also came forward with allegations of rape, pressure, drug use and abuse.
“There are also deep concerns about minors. I hope everyone involved in this movie takes the time to listen to the women who lived this movie before helping Hollywood turn it into nostalgia.”
TODAY.com reached out to Biel for comment on Harris’ post and to Harris for further comment on what she wrote. Neither of them answered.
TODAY.com also reached out to Hefner’s estate for comment about Harris’ allegations that she experienced “rape, coercion, drugs and exploitation” but did not hear back.
Searchlight Pictures is producing the film but did not respond to TODAY.com’s request for comment on Harris’ post or Biel’s role in the film.
Variety reported on Oct. 6 that Biel has joined the cast of “Playmates,” a coming-of-age story about a 13-year-old girl who befriends a woman who competes with other nominees to become Playmate of the Month. Bill Pullman, Lily-Rose Depp and Indiana Elle will also star in the film.
Biel is planned to play Hefner’s wife in the film. According to Variety, the character is fictional and not based on a real person.
Hefner was married two more times, to Kimberley Conrad from 1989 to 2010 and to Millie Williams from 1949 to 1959.
Harris followed up with another post in which she showed appreciation for the “overwhelming response” her post received.
“Many women are speaking out, sharing their experiences, and expressing that they have had enough,” she wrote.
“Victim blaming is still very common, especially when it comes to narcissistic and emotional abuse. I know not everyone experiences these dynamics firsthand, and I’m truly happy for those who haven’t. But I also hope that we can listen to and support women who do, even if their experiences are difficult to understand.”
Harris also said she wanted to “support women” and expressed her hope that the film “won’t be something that glorifies Hugh Hefner.” “I hope that the film, with women in leading roles, will ultimately convey a message of empowerment: that women can find fulfillment, independence, and a sense of self beyond Playboy.”
In 2024, Harris penned a memoir titled “Only Say Good Things: Surviving ‘Playboy’ and Finding Myself,” in which she wrote that living in the famous Playboy Mansion was like living in prison.
Hugh Hefner, who wrote that Rapunzel felt like she was locked in a tower, says, “I always had to be home at six o’clock. If I wasn’t, it was a problem. He would get upset. He would shout my name around the house.”
“I didn’t know at the time that I could save myself. I didn’t always know that I needed to be saved, but I knew that I was trapped,” she added.
Harris also said Hefner was a “narcissist” and had a need to control the women living in the mansion.
“It was like he wanted us to beg him for something so we could feel even more powerful and possibly feel small,” she told TODAY.com in 2024.
“It was strange and difficult. Looking back, I see that he used and manipulated me in every way for his own benefit,” she continued.
In August, Harris said Hefner was “very abusive” and that he was “brainwashed” when he appeared on the “Nobody Asked Him” podcast.
“And I thought I was the crazy one because all the media put Hef in such a pedestal that I thought, ‘Okay, if they all see him as this amazing, amazing person, there must be something wrong with me.’
Hefner has been accused of sexual misconduct before, and multiple accusations were leveled against him in the 2022 A&E series “Playboy Secrets,” which aired five years after his death in 2017.
At the end of each episode, a statement read: “This series contains decades of allegations of wrongdoing by Hugh Hefner and others associated with him.” “The vast majority of the allegations have not been the subject of criminal investigation or indictment and do not constitute evidence of crime.”