Alba forgives Playboy
2006-04-05 08:56
Los Angeles - Hollywood starlet Jessica Alba has dropped plans to sue Playboy magazine after its founder Hugh Hefner apologised for putting her photo on the magazine's Sexiest Celebrities issue cover, she said on Tuesday.
The actress, 25, had threatened legal action, complaining that Playboy used an unauthorised cover photo, culled from a movie publicity picture, to make it seem as if she appeared in a "nude or semi-nude pictorial" inside.
But she dropped her claims relating to Playboy's March 25 Sexiest Celebrities issue after receiving a personal letter of apology from magazine founder editor-in-chief Hefner.
In addition to the apology, Playboy has also made donations to two charities supported by Alba, Keep a Child Alive and Until There's a Cure Foundation.
The apology
"In light of Mr Hefner's personal apology for Playboy's unauthorised use of my photo on their cover, I have decided to discontinue my claims against them," Alba said in a statement issued by her publicist.
"I appreciate Mr Hefner's acknowledgement of the distress caused by Playboy's actions and I'm happy to put this unfortunate event behind me.
"This was never about money, it was about setting the record straight about something that was done without my knowledge or consent," Alba concluded.
Alba's lawyer had earlier said that the racy 54-year-old girlie magazine's decision to feature her on the cover to illustrate a story about the 25 sexiest celebrities had caused Alba "immeasurable harm."
The attorney alleged that Playboy initially offered to pay Alba to appear on the cover, but that they were flatly turned down.
The magazine then allegedly resorted to a ruse to obtain a promotional photo of a bikini-clad Alba taken on the set of her film Into the Blue from the studio that made the movie, Columbia Pictures, he claimed.