This & That, Ceci et Cela

Apparently, the Playboy Magazine is not above faking it! From what actress Jessica Alba’s lawyer is foaming forth, Hugh Hefner & Co. are trying to make it seem that she appears in a “nude or semi-nude pictorial” when she didn’t, therefore she’s threatening to sue the magazine. She appears in bikini on the cover of Playboy’s March issue.

In a February 23 legal threat letter, Alba’s lawyer demands that Playboy cease distributing the magazine and provide the 25-year-old actress with a “monetary settlement” for its unauthorized use of her image for commercial purposes. … He charges that Playboy initially offered to pay Alba to appear on the cover, but was flatly turned down. He alleges that the magazine then resorted to a ruse to obtain a previous promotional photo of Alba (from the film “Into the Blue”) from Columbia Pictures. That is the image that appears on Playboy’s cover. Columbias executives also sent a letter about the “outrageous, unethical behavior utilized by Playboy personnel to obtain” the Alba promotional photograph. While reserving its legal rights, the studio is demanding an apology for both it and Alba. (Smoking Gun).

UPDATE (Apr 4th ‘06):

Playboy eats crow; Hefner issues personal apology to Jessica. And she responded with: “In light of Mr. Hefner’s personal apology for Playboy’s unauthorized use of my photo on their cover, I have decided to discontinue my claims against them,” Alba, 24, said in a written statement.