If you’re a fan of Vanessa Hudgens, you’re probably aware that she was instrumental in ex-boyfriend Austin Butler’s decision to play Elvis Presley.
In fact, she was the one who encouraged him to go for the position in the first place after noticing how similar he looked to the late rock and roll icon.
She said, “He had just dyed his hair dark—it’s a natural blonde—and I was looking at him and he was singing with him and I was like, ‘Babe, you gotta play Elvis. ‘”
Vanessa continued, “Then in January, he’s sitting at the piano—he’s a musician—and he plays and he sings and I’m like, ‘I don’t know how, but you have to know how you can play Elvis.'” Like, I don’t know how we get the rights or what we do, but you have to play with it.”
Lo and behold, Austin ended up playing Elvis in Baz Luhrmann’s biopic, which was released last summer. However, he and Vanessa broke up while the movie was in the works, with reports Claiming that it was a “distance issue” that led to their split after nearly a decade together.
After the release of the movie, Austin became a huge success thanks to his amazing performance.
However, fans have noticed that he avoided publicly contributing to Vanessa about the whole thing.
For example, at last week’s Golden Globes, Austin I accepted the award Best Actor in a Drama Movie. While he was thanking everyone from Denzel Washington and Brad Pitt to Quentin Tarantino and the Presley family, he didn’t mention Vanessa.
This wasn’t the only time he failed to mention Vanessa in reference to playing Elvis. Last week, Austin went a step further and actually recounted the story of how she encouraged him to go for the role, but he didn’t name her.
Austin said to Colin Farrell, Brendan Fraser, Jeremy Pope, Ke Hui Quan, and Adam Sandler during Hollywood Reporter Actors Roundtable.
“I was with a friend of mine and I was singing with him, and my friend kind of looked at me and said, ‘You have to play Elvis,'” he recalled.
“Two weeks later, I was playing the piano. I never sang to any of my friends or anything.” That same friend was there, and I was playing the piano. She said: I’m serious. You should know how you can get the rights to the script. “
Austin’s reference to Vanessa as an unnamed “girlfriend” rubbed many fans the wrong way, especially considering how well the movie has done since its release.
And it was only a matter of time before Vanessa weighed in on the conversation herself.
Leave a short but cute comment on a post about Instagram Deep Southern Austin Elvis accentwho has continued to speak since filming wrapped, Vanessa wrote, “Crying.”
Some people have praised the actor for his candid response to the news about her ex, especially considering he didn’t credit her for encouraging him to play Elvis.
Another said: “Vanessa Hudgens ended her 20-year Austin Butler impression with one word.”
So… Joey King saved Aaron Taylor Johnson from his “wife” nanny Need, Miley Cyrus ended Liam with flowers and Vanessa Hudgens ended a 20 year Austin Butler impression with one word and *check notes* and it’s only Thursday
Another person added: “I love her more for commenting on this.”
Others, however, questioned why Vanessa felt the need to leave a comment altogether, calling the whole thing unnecessary.
“But why did you feel it necessary to do this? Miss Girls’ Night’s Obsession…” someone wrote.
But why did you feel it was necessary to do so? Miss Girls Lil Obsessed… https://t.co/ho2URand6y
