Entertainment · Celebrity · 1 day ago
Holly Madison supports Jessica Biel’s role in upcoming Playboy film
Holly Madison has voiced support for Jessica Biel’s role in Playmates, an upcoming film set around the Playboy Mansion.
Biel is set to play a fictional wife of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, who died in 2017.
Crystal Hefner, Hefner’s widow, publicly asked Biel to reconsider the role, saying she experienced sexual, emotional, financial and physical abuse in her marriage.
She also urged the filmmakers to listen to women who lived at the mansion and avoid turning the Playboy world into nostalgia.
Madison, who dated Hefner from 2001 to 2008, said she is looking forward to the film and believes in keeping an open mind about storytelling.
The film follows a 13-year-old girl who spends time at the mansion and befriends a Playmate.
The sources do not say when the film will be released or whether Biel will respond to Crystal Hefner’s request.
Crystal Hefner urged Jessica Biel to reconsider playing Hugh Hefner’s fictional wife in the forthcoming film Playmates.
Hefner said she experienced sexual, emotional, financial and physical abuse during her marriage to Hugh Hefner.
She also cited other women’s allegations and raised concerns about minors, asking the filmmakers to listen to women who lived in the Playboy world.
Playmates follows a 13-year-old girl who spends time at the Playboy Mansion and befriends a would-be Playmate.
The film’s cast includes Biel, Bill Pullman, Lily-Rose Depp and Indiana Elle.
- Who
- Crystal Hefner asked actor Jessica Biel to reconsider her role in Playmates.
- What
- Hefner objected to Biel playing Hugh Hefner’s fictional wife if the film romanticizes him or the Playboy world.
- When
- Hefner shared her message in an Instagram post on Oct. 8; the articles were published Oct. 9 and 10, 2026.
- Where
- Hefner shared the message on Instagram. The film is set partly at the Playboy Mansion.
- Why
- She said she experienced abuse in her marriage and cited allegations by other women and concerns involving minors.
Crystal Hefner
Holly Madison
Portrayal of the Playboy world
Crystal Hefner
Hefner urged Biel to reconsider if the film romanticizes Hugh Hefner or Playboy and asked the filmmakers to hear from women who lived it.
Holly Madison
Madison said she was keeping an open mind about the storytelling and described the project as an exciting opportunity.
Please reconsider playing Hugh Hefner’s ‘wife’ if this film intends to romanticize him or the Playboy world
I was actually his wife, and I experienced sexual, emotional, financial and physical abuse in that relationship.
can’t wait to see it
I love Lily-Rose Depp, too.
Crystal Hefner married Hugh Hefner, according to The Independent.
Hugh Hefner died at age 91 while Crystal Hefner was his wife.
Crystal Hefner publicly shared an Instagram message asking Jessica Biel to reconsider her role.
AV Club and The Independent published reports on Hefner’s appeal.
E! News reported Holly Madison’s support for the film.
- Film
- Playmates
- Jessica Biel’s role
- A fictional version of one of Hugh Hefner’s wives
- Story’s central character
- 13-year-old Elle, played by Indiana Elle
- Other cast members
- Bill Pullman and Lily-Rose Depp
- Hugh Hefner’s age at death
- 91
Sources
Girls Next Door star Holly Madison defends Jessica Biel's Hugh Hefner biopic… after Playboy mogul's widow Crystal torched the film
Holly Madison Weighs in on Jessica Biel’s Playboy Movie Amid Criticism
Holly Madison Addresses Jessica Biel's Controversial 'Playmates' Movie
Hugh Hefner's widow asks Jessica Biel to "reconsider" her Playmates role









