Vanessa Hudgens Fans Are Buzzing Over Austin Butler's Comments About a "Friend" Who Encouraged Elvis Role

Austin Butler turned heads when he referenced a “friend” who pushed for him to play Elvis on-screen. Learn why fans believe Austin is talking about ex-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens.

By Kelly Gilmore Jan 11, 2023 10:04 PMTags
Watch: Austin Butler Addresses His New Elvis-Like Voice at Globes

Austin Butler has this fanbase all shook up.

The Golden Globe winner recently reflected on his road to playing Elvis Presley in the biopic Elvis, explaining that it was a "friend" who convinced him he was perfect for the role. However, many fans have work, work, worked it out that Austin was potentially referring to ex-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens—and with good reason.

"The month before I heard that Baz [Luhrmann] was making the movie, I was going to look at Christmas lights with a friend," he recalled during The Hollywood Reporter's Actors Roundtable published Jan. 10. "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.'"

But he notes his unnamed friend was persistent, giving him the same note a little while later.

"A couple of weeks later, I was playing the piano," he continued. "I never really sang for any of my friends or anything. That same friend was there and I was playing the piano. She said, ‘I'm serious. You gotta figure out how you can get the rights to a script.' Then my agent called and said, ‘So Baz Luhrmann is making an Elvis film.'"

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Vanessa Hudgens & Austin Butler's Cutest Pics

So how does Vanessa fit into this? The actress, who dated Austin from 2011 to 2020, shared a nearly identical story in 2019.

"Last December, we were driving along and we were listening to Christmas music, and then an Elvis Presley Christmas song came on," Vanessa shared
on Live with Kelly and Ryan at the time. "He had just dyed his hair dark. He's a natural blonde, blonde and I was looking at him and he was singing along and I was like, ‘Babe, you need to play Elvis.'"

Frazer Harrison/WireImage

The High School Musical alum continued the tale by noting Austin was playing the piano for her when she pushed the idea further.

"Then in January, he was sitting at the piano," she shared. "And he's playing and he's singing and I'm like, ‘I don't know how, but you need to figure out how you can play Elvis. Like, I don't know how we get rights or what we do, but you need to play him."

Sure enough, Austin eventually landed the role—and now he has also landed himself in the center of discourse among Vanessa fans.

One user wrote on Twitter, "Vanessa hudgens and Austin butler dated for 10 years just for him to call her his friend IM SICK."

However, others didn't think there was malice in The Carrie Diaries alum referring to his ex as a friend, with one stating, "There's literally nothing wrong with Austin Butler calling Vanessa a friend that is called GROWTH AND MATURITY. Learn it."

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