Vanessa Hudgens is seeing the start of something new: Her ex Austin Butler's recent speaking voice.
The actress reacted to a Jan. 19 Instagram slideshow that poked fun at how Austin's voice has appeared to change following his portrayal of Elvis Presley in the 2022 biopic Elvis.
In the comments section, Vanessa—who dated Austin from 2011 to 2020—wrote, "Crying."
Austin's Elvis-like accent drew attention on the internet after his win at the 80th annual Golden Globes for Best Actor in a Drama, with celebrities such as Meena Harris tweeting, "Has he been sounding like Elvis this whole time????"
The actor addressed the buzz himself at the 2023 Golden Globes backstage at the Jan. 10 awards show, telling reporters in the press room about his everlasting connection to the King of Rock N' Roll.
"I don't think I sound like him still, but I guess I must because I hear it a lot," he said. "I had three years where that was my only focus. So, I'm sure there's pieces of him in my DNA and I'll always be linked."
Irene Bartlett, who was Austin's voice coach for Elvis, also recently came to his defense, noting that his voice is authentic and a product of working tirelessly for the role.
"What you saw in that Golden Globes speech, that's him," she told ABC's Gold Coast on Jan. 16. "It's genuine, it's not put on."
As for when Austin will stop sounding like Elvis? Irene doesn't have a timeline in mind.
"I feel sorry people are saying that, you know, it's still acting [but] he's actually taken [the voice] on board," she said. "I don't know how long that will last, or if it's going to be there forever."