Playboy readers might be buying up the December/January issue featuring Lindsay Lohan's nude pictorial, but Hugh Hefner says that he initially wasn't sure about the idea for the shoot, which pays homage to Marilyn Monroe's iconic pictorial.
"The concept came from my editors. I had mixed emotions to begin with. I could not have anticipated, quite frankly, that it would turn out to be such a sensational newsworthy event, or that the pictorial would turn out so well," he told People magazine about Lohan's headline-making spread.
Hefner said he never met up with Lohan while she was shooting, but he does recall that some people weren't sure she should bare it all for the magazine. "Some of the people around her said, 'No, no, no, I don't want her nude,' " he explained. "And I said, 'No, this is how it's going to be. This is how it is.' "
Hef likens this shoot to one taken by another starlet during a transitional point in her career: Drew Barrymore. "Historically, Playboy pictorials are connected to celebrities at various times in their career," Hefner explained. "Sometimes it's the beginning of their career and sometimes it comes at a particular moment — as with Lindsay — that is intended as a turnaround."
He added that right now Lohan is "carrying around some serious luggage," but he thinks that "this is a born-again beginning for Lindsay. I think there's a rooting interest for her."
Lohan graces the cover of the issue as well as appearing inside, baring not only her body but her soul and addressing her ongoing troubles. "Looking back, I probably would have listened to and taken more advice from the people whom I admire and would have followed through with it more," she said. "My stubbornness at 18 and 19 years old got in the way. During the past five years, I've learned that time flies faster than you think, and because you only live once, you have to learn from your mistakes, live your dreams and be accountable."