Jessica Biel is in the crosshairs of a backlash before her first scene is shot. Crystal Harris, the last wife of Hugh Hefner, has publicly asked her to walk away from Playmates, the Searchlight Pictures film in which she’s set to play a fictional wife of the Playboy founder. The message wasn’t just a tweet. It was a DM — shared on Instagram, and it landed like a grenade in Hollywood’s quietest corner. 

Harris didn’t mince words: ‘Please reconsider playing Hugh Hefner’s wife if this film intends to romanticize him or the Playboy world.’ She added that she endured ‘sexual, emotional, financial and physical abuse’ during their five-year marriage. And she’s not alone. She cited other women who’ve come forward with allegations of rape, coercion, drugging, and exploitation. There’s also mention of ‘deeply troubling concerns involving minors.’ 

The film isn’t a biopic. Bill Pullman plays Hefner, but he’s not the lead. The story centers on a 13-year-old girl, Elle (Indiana Elle), who sees the Playboy Mansion as home, and Anna (Lily-Rose Depp), one of seven hopefuls chasing the Playmate of the Month title. Their friendship becomes the engine of a coming-of-age tale rooted in Lorraine Nicholson’s own childhood memories. Nicholson, daughter of Jack Nicholson, wrote and directs. 

But Harris isn’t buying the ‘fictional’ excuse. She’s seen how stories get rewritten. How trauma gets sanitized. How the mansion. Once a symbol of liberation for some, became a stage for control, manipulation, and silence. Her 2024 memoir, Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself, laid bare what life was like behind the velvet curtains. Now, she’s warning Biel: don’t be part of the nostalgia machine. 

Biel hasn’t responded. No statement. No denial. Just silence. Which, in this context, speaks volumes. 

And the question now isn’t whether Biel will take the role. It’s whether the film can move forward without being consumed by the past. Or if Harris’s message will force a rethink. Not just of casting, but of tone, narrative, and responsibility. 

One thing’s certain: the next chapter of Playmates won’t be written in a vacuum. The woman who lived it is watching. And she’s not asking nicely.