Vanessa Hudgens appears to be throwing shade at her ex-boyfriend Austin Butler after he ruthlessly mocked keeping his accent for Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic.
Butler, 31, has been roasted since he spoke in a thick drawl from Memphis, much like Elvis Presley when accepting his Golden Globe, despite being from Anaheim, Calif.
Hudgens – who was first linked to Butler in September 2011 – commented on an article about whether his accent was “authentic” which quipped: “He went to Lady Gaga School of acting in Oscar campaign.”
Roast: Vanessa Hudgens appears to be throwing shade at her ex-boyfriend Austin Butler after he ruthlessly mocked keeping his accent for Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic
Ex-flames: Vanessa and Austin were in a long-term relationship from 2011 to 2020
Fans were quick to notice that Hudgens, 34, replied below that she was “crying”, perceived as crying with laughter at the jibe.
The post came from social media influencer Ryan Scott, who has nearly 40,000 followers on Instagram.
The joke refers to the over-the-top lengths Lady Gaga went to campaign for an Oscar nomination for her role in House of Gucci, which didn’t go over well for the pop singer.
Her caption recalls how the A Star is Born actress was notoriously mocked for her poor Italian accent while playing Patrizia Reggiani.
At the time, a dialect coach who worked on the film with co-star Salma Hayek noted that Gaga’s New York-raised accent sounded “more Russian.”
And just like Butler, Gaga – real name Stefani Germanotta – insisted in a British Vogue profile that she “lives like [Reggiani] for a year and a half. And I spoke with an accent for nine months.
Coming to Butler’s defense shortly after his Golden Globes win, his voice coach Iren Bartlett said, “What you saw in that Golden Globes speech was him.” It’s authentic, it’s not put.
‘I’m sorry people say that, you know, he still acts [but] he is actually taken [the voice of Presley] on board,” she said, adding that the change could be permanent: “I don’t know how long it’s going to last, or if it’s going to be there forever.
Fans are confused about the voice change since Elvis was filmed in March 2021, nearly two years ago.
Irene further explained why Austin still sounds like he did in the movie: ‘Because of the COVID shutdowns he was working on it all the time and it’s hard to turn off something you spent so much concentration on [and] It’s time.’
Perplexed: Fans have been confused about the voice change since Elvis filming wrapped in March 2021, almost two years ago
Vanessa’s mild reaction follows recent backlash from Austin fans after she called her ex – who he dated for eight years – a ‘friend’ in interviews discussing how he manifested his career-defining role while they were together.
The snub came as Austin told a story involving his former love during The Hollywood Reporter’s cast roundtable.
He has repeatedly downplayed their relationship when explaining how his “friend” encouraged him to pursue the role of Elvis in Baz Luhrmann’s biopic.
‘The month before I heard that Baz [Luhrmann] was shooting the movie, I was watching the Christmas lights and there was an Elvis Christmas song on the radio and I was with a friend of mine,” he said.
“I was singing and my friend looked at me and said, ‘You have to play Elvis.’ I said, ‘Oh, that’s so long.’
“A few weeks later, I was playing the piano,” he continued.
Public shadow: Fans quickly picked up on this snarky comment from Vanessa, which implied she was ‘crying’ while laughing at the joke
“I never really sang for any of my friends or anything. This same friend was there and I was playing the piano.
‘She said, ‘I’m serious. You gotta figure out how to get the rights to a script.’ Then my agent called me and said, ‘So Baz Luhrmann is doing an Elvis movie.’
Although Butler didn’t specifically name Hudgens in her reminiscences, the actress shared the story in 2019 during an appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan.
They were still together at the time, she recalls, “Last December we were in the car and we were listening to Christmas music, and then an Elvis Presley Christmas song came along.”
His defense: Austin has repeatedly said the accent is ‘in his DNA’ after working on the praised film for two or three years
“He had just dyed his hair black. He’s a natural blonde, and I was looking at him and he was singing and I was like, ‘Baby, you gotta play Elvis.’
“In January, he was sitting at the piano,” she continued.
‘And he plays and he sings and I’m like, ‘I don’t know how, but you gotta figure out how you can play Elvis. Like, I don’t know how we get the rights or what we do, but you gotta play with him.”
Many took to Twitter calling it “disgusting” and “disrespectful”.
“He calls vanessa hudgens a PLEASEEEE ‘friend’,” one tweeted, sharing a clip from the interview, while another wrote in replies, “he’s so disgusting I’m sorry” .
Upset fans: Vanessa’s remark follows backlash from Austin fans after he called her a ‘friend’ in interviews discussing how he manifested his career-defining role while they were together
Since their split, Vanessa and Austin have found themselves in new long-term relationships.
Austin became involved with model and actress Kaia Gerber, 21, in late 2021 before going red carpet official at the Met Gala in May 2022.
The duo then flew to Cannes, where Gerber supported them at the premiere of Elvis.
And for her part, Vanessa is just over two years into her romance with MLB star Cole Tucker, 26.
Fans have since unearthed an old photo of Vanessa and Kaia meeting at a High School Musical 2 premiere in 2007, showing their thirteen-year age gap.
Moving on: Since their split, Vanessa and Austin have found themselves in new long-term relationships
Stark contrast: Ever since Austin dated Kaia, fans dug up an old photo of Vanessa and Kaia meeting at a High School Musical 2 premiere in 2007, showing their thirteen-year age gap; pictured with Gerber’s mother, Cindy Crawford, and brother Presley
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