Hugh Hefner’s widow urges Jessica Biel not to star in “Playboy” movie…”think about the women, minors that have been raped, abused”

By our reporter 9.10.2026
Crystal Harris the widow of “Playboy” magazine founder Hugh Hefner has urged popular actress Jesical Biel not to play Hefner’s wife in the upcoming “Playboy” movie “Playmates.”
Writing a direct message to Jessica Biel in her Instagram social media platform, Harris said: “Please reconsider playing Hugh Hefner’s ‘wife’ if this film intends to romanticise him or the Playboy world.”
Harris, who was married to Hefner for nearly five years up until he died in 2017, detailed the “sexual, emotional, financial and physical abuse” she experienced with Hefner in her message to Biel.
“I was actually his wife… Many other women have come forward with allegations of rape, coercion, drugging and exploitation as well. There are also deeply troubling concerns involving minors. I hope everyone involved in this film takes the time to listen to the women who lived it before helping Hollywood turn it back into nostalgia.”
USA Today reports that Hefner, a magazine magnate and businessman, built his brand on womanizing with the launch of Playboy in the early 1950s. He wed Crystal, his third wife, in 2012. Heralded by some as a pioneer in sexual politics, his contributions have been derided by others as misogynistic and promoting a culture of abuse.