Hefner Apologizes to Jessica Alba on Behalf of Playboy

I previously posted about Jessica Alba's dispute with Playboy regarding their use of one of her publicity photos as the cover of the March 2006 edition of the magazine.  Alba was not at all happy and had threatened to sue Playboy.

I'm happy to report that the dispute has ended amicably with an apology and donations in unspecified amounts to two of Alba's favorite charities.  As reported in this article:

Alba's lawyers, who claimed that Playboy tricked Sony Pictures Entertainment into supplying the photo after the "Fantastic Four" star refused to pose for the cover, had also asked that the magazine pull the March issue from newsstands.

A spokeswoman for Playboy was not immediately available for comment. The magazine initially had claimed to have "done nothing wrong" in giving cover treatment to Alba, who was chosen "sexiest star of the year" by Playboy readers in an online poll.

In his letter to Alba, Hefner apologized for "any distress unintentionally caused by the publication of your photo" on the March cover.

"What was intended as a tribute to your tremendous popularity has been misinterpreted by some as something else for which we are truly sorry since we are among your biggest fans," Hefner said.

Whew!  Glad to hear it. 

Now, who do you think came out ahead in the end?  I'm thinking it was good publicity for all concerned.  One hand washes the other....