Playboy Refuses to Pull Jessica Alba Issue

Playboy won't pull its March issue over actress Jessica Alba's claim that she was made an unwitting cover girl to fool readers into thinking she is nude inside, the magazine said on Friday. Alba accuses the magazine of violating her rights and misleading the public by using a publicity photo from her 2005 movie "Into the Blue" and running it on the cover, along with a bunny logo superimposed on her bikini top."Playboy has done nothing wrong, so there is no reason to pull our issue off of newsstands," spokeswoman Lauren Melone said.Lawyers for Alba, 24, have threatened to sue unless the issue was pulled off stands and demanded the star be compensated for damage to her image.They also accuse Playboy of duping Sony Pictures into supplying the photo of the actress sporting a multicolored bikini and belly ring for the cover.Playboy said Alba was placed on the cover after being chosen "sexiest star of the year" by its readers and was also included in an article on the top 25 sexiest celebrities as chosen in an online poll.The magazine added that celebrities routinely grace its cover without appearing naked inside.