Playboy out early as nude Lohan photos leak

LOS ANGELES: Playboy is to release its January/February issue early after nude pictures of troubled starlet Lindsay Lohan leaked online, boss Hugh Hefner said Friday.

The actress, who was reportedly paid nearly $1 million for the magazine spread, appears on the cover seated on a bright red Playboy bunny chair, only just protecting her modesty.

"Because of the interest & the Internet leak, we're releasing the Lindsay Lohan issue early," Hefner said on Twitter, adding: "Lindsay Lohan was the top search name on the Internet yesterday.

"Hot. Hot. Hot," tweeted Hefner, announcing that the next issue of the magazine will come out next week.

The leaked pictures show the curvy actress channeling Marilyn Monroe, flirting with the camera in a series of soft porn-style poses lying, kneeling or stretching herself voluptuously against red velvet drapery.

The actress had wanted $1 million for the Playboy spread and balked at an initial offer of $750,000 -- but Hefner eventually made an offer near enough to $1 million to entice her, celebrity news website TMZ reported.

Lohan -- once the promising child star of hit Disney movies "The Parent Trap" and "Freaky Friday" -- has a reputation for hard partying and has faced a series of legal tangles over the years.

Lohan was sentenced to 35 days of house detention in May as part of a plea bargain over the alleged theft of a $2,500 necklace from a jewelry shop near her home in Venice Beach.