Hef Says Sorry, Alba Says Okay

Tue., Apr. 4, 2006 3:40 PM PDT by Natalie Finn

Playboy has decided to make nice with Jessica Alba. In turn, she's calling off the legal dogs.

The Fantastic Four star has retracted her threat to sue the magazine for printing an unauthorized publicity shot of her on its March cover, Alba's publicist, Brad Cafarelli, confirmed to E! Online. Her change of heart came after the man himself--Hugh Hefner--offered up his sincerest apologies.

Hefner, Playboy's legendary editor in chief, wrote a personal letter of apology to Alba and made donations to two of the actress's favorite charities, Keep a Child Alive and the Until There's a Cure Foundation.

"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 said in a statement Tuesday. "I appreciate Mr. Hefner's acknowledgment 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's camp sent a letter to Playboy protesting its March issue touting Hollywood's "25 Sexiest Celebrities," saying that her image on the cover implied that the 24-year-old actress would be appearing nude or in a state of undress within the magazine. The cover picture was actually a shot from Alba's treasure-hunt thriller, Into the Blue.

The letter claimed that Playboy had approached the Sin City siren about posing for the sexy-celebrity issue but that she turned the offer down. Alba's attorney, Brian Wolf, requested that the company "cease and desist" from distributing the offensive issue and turn over all proceeds earned from it to the emotionally wounded actress.

Playboy demurred, saying that Alba had simply received the most votes in its poll of the 25 sexiest celebrities. Playboy also pointed out that many lovely ladies, including Paris Hilton, Brooke Shields and Claudia Schiffer, had appeared on the cover over the years and managed to keep their clothes on within the issue.