Austin Butler Won Over Fans With a High-road Moment With Ex Vanessa Hudgens After She Seemingly Mocked Him
- Austin Butler and Vanessa Hudgens dated for almost a decade before breaking up in 2020.
- Hudgens seemed to shade Butler's voice and accent for the biopic Elvis.
- Butler has made it clear that he has no hard feelings for his ex with his comments.
Austin Butler has been the people’s prince for a couple of years now and one comment he made in 2023 about ex-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens proved that he deserves it. Butler has been in the industry for a long time but only gained international recognition in 2022 for his performance in Elvis as the legendary musician.
Butler had been in a relationship with Hudgens for a long time before they broke up in 2020. They have primarily been estranged since then, but in early 2023, Hudgens seemed to shade the Dune: Part Two star with a comment. However, Butler, gracious as ever, only had nice things to say about her.
Vanessa Hudgens seemed to shade Austin Butler in a comment about his Elvis voice
Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler first crossed paths in 2011 and in early 2012, they made their red carpet debut as a couple. Throughout their relationship, Hudgens shared pictures of herself and Butler from different events or when they hit a new milestone. Distance and scheduling conflicts were a huge factor in their relationship which it ultimately succumbed to.
October 2019 was the last time Hudgens posted pictures with Butler. After months of silence from them, it was revealed that they had broken up (via PEOPLE). The news came as a shock to millions of fans who had been rooting for the couple for years. Fast forward to 2023, the High School Musical alum seemed to throw shade on her ex.
In January 2023, during The Hollywood Reporter‘s Actor Roundtable, Butler claimed that a “friend” believed in his ability to play Presley if a biopic was ever made. This friend was none other than Hudgens herself. About a week later, a post about Butler’s Elvis voice and accent seemed to have caught the actress’ attention (via Life & Style). The post read:
He went to the Lady Gaga school of Oscar campaign acting.
Hudgens had commented “Crying” under it. Since their breakup, this was the first time the actress seemed to have something to say about Butler so it was obviously a big deal at the time. Whether she was really throwing shade or just joking remains a mystery.
Austin Butler credited Vanessa Hudgens for manifesting his Elvis role
After Butler addressed her as a “friend” in The Hollywood Reporter interview, there was a lot of backlash from fans who found out that the story he had told matched with the one Hudgens had told on shared on Live with Kelly and Ryan in August 2019.
Later that same month, in an interview with The Los Angeles Times, he said, “I was with my partner at the time,” referring to the person who inspired him to take the role. When asked if this partner was Hudgens, he confirmed, saying:
That’s right. We’d been together for so long and she had this sort of clairvoyant moment and so I really, I owe her a lot for believing in me.
When Deadline first revealed that Butler would be playing Presley in July 2019, Hudgens did not waste any time in expressing how proud she was about her then-boyfriend in an Instagram post. After all, it is not every day that someone gets to portray the King of Rock n’ Roll on the big screen.
For his performance, Butler won a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA. Moreover, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Butler does not seem to have any hard feelings towards Hudgens. Hopefully, they can reconcile as friends at some point.
