Austin Butler is clearing the air about the time he referred to his former longtime girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens as simply a "friend." The viral moment occurred during The Hollywood Reporter's 2023 Actor Roundtable — when the 'Elvis' actor shared he was encouraged to play the King of Rock 'n' Roll through "a friend." At the time, social media was in a tizzy because it was clear he was talking about Hudgens, who shared the similar story during Live with Kelly and Ryan while discussing THR's casting article announcing Butler's role as Elvis.
00:00She said, I'm serious. You got to figure out how you can get the rights to a script and like write something and do Elvis's life.
00:07Who's this friend? I need the...
00:08Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll give you the number.
00:10Austin Butler is clearing the air about the time he referred to his former longtime girlfriend, Vanessa Hudgens, as simply a friend.
00:18The viral moment occurred during the Hollywood Reporter's 2023 Actor Roundtable,
00:23when the Elvis actor shared that he was encouraged to audition for the king of rock and roll through a friend.
00:27There was an Elvis Christmas song on the radio and I was with a friend of mine and I was singing along and my friend kind of looked over at me and goes, you got to play Elvis.
00:37At the time, social media was in a tizzy because it was clear he was talking about Hudgens, who shared the similar story in other interviews.
00:44We were listening to Christmas music and an Elvis Presley Christmas song came on and he had just dyed his hair dark.
00:50He's a natural like blonde blonde. And I was looking at him and he was singing along and I was like, babe, you need to play Elvis.
00:57Many fans felt he was downgrading the role she played in his life.
01:01Now, in a cover story for Esquire, Butler is finally explaining why he referred to her that way at the time.
01:07I 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.
01:13I have so much love and care for her. It was in no way trying to erase anything.
01:18Butler currently has Masters of the Air on Apple TV Plus and next stars in Dune Part 2 out in theaters March 1st.
01:25For more on this interview, head to THR.com.
01:28And for the latest entertainment news and updates, keep watching The Hollywood Reporter News.
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