Crystal Harris asks Jessica Biel to reconsider role in Hugh Hefner film

Crystal Harris, the widow of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, has asked Jessica Biel to reconsider playing a fictional version of Hefner's wife in the upcoming film Playmates. Variety Film, Variety, Yahoo, TMZ and the Daily Mail all report that Harris posted her plea on social media following the announcement of Biel's casting. [1][2][3][4][5]

According to Variety Film and the Daily Mail, Harris urged Biel not to take the role if the film intends to romanticise Hefner or the Playboy world. Variety Film reported that Harris cited her personal experience as his wife, alleging that she experienced sexual, emotional and physical abuse. [1][5]

Harris was the third wife of the publisher, who died in September 2017. She married Hefner in December 2012, having previously been selected as the Playboy Playmate of the Month for December 2009. [1][6]

Biel began her career as a vocalist appearing in musical productions before being cast as Mary Camden in the family drama series 7th Heaven, which ran from 1996 to 2007. [8]