PREVIEW

Austin Butler responds to backlash after calling Vanessa Hudgens a ‘friend’. Austin Butler has responded to the criticism he received from fans after referring to Vanessa as his "friend" during a Hollywood Reporter Actors Roundtable conversation in 2023. ”Oh, yeah, I learned a lesson with that one. I felt that I was respecting her privacy in a way and not wanting to bring up a ton of things that would cause her to have to talk.” "I have so much love and care for her. It was in no way trying to erase anything. I value my own privacy so much, I didn't want to give up anybody else's privacy.” While discussing his titular role in Baz Luhrmann's 2023 film Elvis, Austin explained that his "friend," who later turned out to be Vanessa, encouraged him to take on the role of Elvis Presley. ”The month before I heard that Baz (Luhrmann) was making the movie, I was going to look at Christmas lights with a friend, and there was an Elvis Christmas song on the radio and I was singing along, and my friend looked over at me and goes, 'You've got to play Elvis.' I said, 'Oh, that's such a long shot.’" Shortly after the Roundtable conversation was released, a clip from a 2019 episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan resurfaced of Vanessa telling the same story. The pair began dating in 2011 but split nine years later in 2020. Austin is now dating model Kaia Gerber, while Vanessa recently married professional baseball player Cole Tucker. THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT