Hugh Hefner's widow urges Jessica Biel not to play wife in new film

Hugh Hefner's widow, Crystal Harris, has urged Jessica Biel not to play the Playboy founder's wife in a new movie about life in the mansion.

Earlier this week, it was announced that Biel had joined the cast of the new movie Playmates, inspired by writer/director Lorraine Nicholson's own experiences at the Playboy mansion during her childhood.

Harris DM'd Biel, and then shared that Instagram message on her grid, tagging the actor.

"Please reconsider playing Hugh Hefner's 'wife' if this film intends to romanticise him or the Playboy world," she wrote.

"I was actually his wife, and I experienced sexual, emotional, financial and physical abuse in that relationship. 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."

Harris was married to Hefner from 2012 until his death in 2017. Hefner was married twice before that: to Millie Williams from 1949 to 1959; and to Kimberley Conrad from 1989 to 2010.

Bill Pullman is set to play Hefner in the upcoming film. Also announced in the cast are Lily-Rose Depp and Indiana Elle.

According to Deadline, the movie is an LA-set coming-of-age story following 13-year-old Elle, played by Elle, who considers the Playboy Mansion her second home. During her time there, she meets Anna, played by Depp, one of seven hopefuls vying to be Playmate of the Month. The two form an unlikely friendship and try to help each other get what the other wants most.