Hugh Hefner was unsure about having Lindsay Lohan on the cover of Playboy because she is carrying around some "serious luggage".

The men's magazine tycoon was initially doubtful when his editors came to him with the concept of doing a pictorial with the Mean Girls star.

Lindsay's career has taken a nosedive due to her legal issues and unpredictable behaviour and the 85-year-old said he needed to be convinced the publication was doing the right thing.

"I had mixed emotions to begin with," Hefner told People magazine. "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.

"Historically, Playboy pictorials are connected to celebrities at various times in their career. 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 went on to use Drew Barrymore as an example of an actress who was experiencing a lull in her career but saw it skyrocket after being on the cover of the magazine.

"This is a born-again beginning for Lindsay," Hefner added. "I think there's a rooting interest for her."

He added that when they were negotiating getting Lindsay to pose, he insisted that she posed fully naked.

"Some of the people around her said, 'No, no, no, I don't want her nude,'" he claimed. "And I said, 'No, this is how it's going to be. This is how it is.'"

Sales of the magazine for the January issue have exceeded expectations and have been flying off the shelves, TMZ reported.

- Cover Media