Playboy is ending its Playmate of the Year title after 50 years, a representative for the men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine has confirmed.
Since 1960, the publication, founded by Hugh Hefner, has handed out the award to its favourite Playmate of the Month from the previous year, with Jenny McCarthy, Anna Nicole Smith, and Victoria Silvstedt all receiving the honour.
However, speaking to the New York Post's gossip column Page Six, a representative confirmed it will be replaced by Playmates of the Year, which will "celebrate all 12 diverse Playmates of the Month" from the previous year.
"The point of this change was to not exclude anyone and instead of honouring one Playmate they're honouring all 12 diverse Playmates of the Year for each of their unique contributions to the brand," they said. "They had an exceptional group of impressive diverse women join the Playboy family as Playmates for 2019. These women are accomplished advocates and admirable personalities in their own right. We wanted to raise the group up as a whole and felt that there was a need to commemorate each of them one more time."
They added the change will pave the way for "a more inclusive celebration", meaning the last-ever Playmate of the Year will be 2019 winner, Jordan Emanuel.
Hefner died at the age of 91 in September 2017.