Austin Butler Addresses Past Drama With Vanessa Hudgens

Austin Butler just explained why he referred to his partner of nine years, Vanessa Hudgens, as a 'friend'.

Transcript

00:00 Austin Butler just addressed referring to his partner of nine years, Vanessa Hudgens,

00:05 as a friend.

00:06 American actor Austin Butler has been heating up ever since he got the opportunity to play

00:10 Elvis.

00:11 Esquire sat down with the star this week to talk both work and personal life, and Butler

00:16 opened up about an old controversy involving his ex, Vanessa Hudgens.

00:20 While in an interview for Elvis, Butler explained that a quote "friend" told him he would

00:24 be the perfect fit for the king of rock and roll.

00:27 Butler was then slammed online as that "friend" turned out to be fellow actor Vanessa Hudgens,

00:32 his partner of nine years.

00:34 While fans believe Butler was downplaying the impact Hudgens had on his life, the star

00:38 explained why he only referred to her as a "friend," saying, "I felt that I was respecting

00:43 her privacy in a way, and not wanting to bring up a ton of things that would cause her to

00:46 have to talk.

00:47 I have so much love and care for her.

00:49 It was in no way trying to erase anything.

00:51 I value my own privacy so much, I didn't want to give up anybody else's privacy."