David Klein / Getty Images

A new Hollywood project about life at the Playboy Mansion has reignited a debate among the women who once lived it — and the former Girls Next Door stars are weighing in from opposite sides of Crystal Hefner.

At Hollywood’s Social Club on October 19, 2006, the VH1 ‘Celebrity Paranormal Project’ launch party brought together Hugh Hefner alongside Bridget Marquardt and Holly Madison. Photo by John M. Heller / Getty Images.

Bridget Marquardt says Jessica Biel should keep her role in Playmates and leave Crystal Hefner’s plea unanswered. The former Girls Next Door star argues that the film concerns a different period at the Playboy Mansion from Crystal’s marriage to Hugh Hefner.

“I think that they are looking for attention, and I don’t think she should respond to it. I think she should totally do the role,” Marquardt, 53, said on October 15.

Holly Madison, Hugh Hefner, Bridget Marquardt, and Kendra Wilkinson arrive together at the ‘House Bunny’ premiere at Mann Village Theater in Westwood, California on August 20, 2008. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images.

Biel, 44, is playing a fictional wife of Hefner, with Bill Pullman, 72, portraying the Playboy founder. Lily-Rose Depp and Indiana Elle also star in the film, written and directed by Lorraine Nicholson, Jack Nicholson’s daughter, who visited the mansion during her childhood.

The Playboy Mansion’s iconic grotto and pool in Beverly Hills, photographed during a 2002 charity event — the same storied property that serves as the backdrop for the upcoming film Playmates. Photo by Frazer Harrison / Getty Images.

Marquardt said she believes Nicholson’s experiences there date to the early to mid-1990s, when Hefner was married and had young children. She acknowledged she could be wrong about the film’s time frame, but said her understanding is that it doesn’t cover Crystal’s years there, adding that she’d heard the mansion’s lifestyle was different during that earlier period.

Hugh Hefner and Kimberly Conrad, accompanied by their children, attend the Star Wars Special Edition premiere in Los Angeles in January 1997. Photo by Getty Images.

Crystal, 40, was married to Hefner from 2012 until his death in 2017 and has described the mansion as a toxic environment. She shared a message she’d sent Biel asking her to reconsider the role.

“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,” Crystal wrote.

Jack Nicholson sips a water bottle courtside alongside his daughter Lorraine at the Lakers vs. Magic game at Staples Center on March 15, 2004 — Lorraine Nicholson later wrote and directed the Playboy Mansion film Playmates. Photo by Vince Bucci / Getty Images.

Marquardt said she objects to what she sees as an effort to prevent Nicholson from telling her story or Biel from participating, arguing that the people who spent time at the mansion had different experiences and should be free to describe them.

Holly Madison, Marquardt’s former Girls Next Door costar, has also voiced support for the project. “I can’t wait to see it,” she said on October 10.

If this resonated, follow Thought Catalog on Facebook and explore more stories on our website.