Austin Butler knows all about the backlash he received over not giving ex-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens credit for pushing him to pursue the role of Elvis Presley in Elvis! And he is finally ready to talk about it!
Let’s rewind real fast! During an appearance on The Hollywood Reporter‘s Actors Roundtable last year, the 32-year-old actor spoke about the journey to becoming the iconic singer in the Baz Luhrmann-directed film. He explained it all began when “a friend” once told him he was meant for the part. However, the person in the story wasn’t just a pal! That person was his former partner of nine years, Vanessa!! She had essentially manifested him getting this role for Austin — and even told the same story in 2019 while on Live! With Kelly and Ryan! Fans slammed him on social media for not giving her the credit for his success in Hollywood. And following the backlash, he did give her a brief shout-out.
Related: OMG Was Austin Butler Flirting With Drew Barrymore In This Interview?!
A year after the controversy, though, Austin clarified why he only referred to Vanessa as “a friend.” In a new interview with Esquire on Tuesday, The Carrie Diaries alum shared that he didn’t name the 35-year-old because he wanted to protect her “privacy.” Hmm… He said:
“Oh, yeah, I learned a lesson with that one. I 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. I have so much love and care for her. It was in no way trying to erase anything.”
It’s nice and all that Austin says he wanted to respect Vanessa’s privacy. But did he really think people would have reacted well to him calling his former girlfriend of nine years a pal? It only ended up causing more drama instead of protecting her peace! He could have just said “my ex” from the beginning, and none of this would have happened! He continued defending himself, adding:
“I value my own privacy so much. I didn’t want to give up anybody else’s privacy.”
Vanessa hasn’t addressed the drama yet, but we have to wonder if she would feel Austin also was doing a good thing and trying to protect her privacy by initially leaving her out of the story! Or if she felt her ex was really attempting to “erase” her from his life?
What do YOU think about the explanation, Perezcious readers? Sound OFF in the comments.
[Image via The Kelly Clarkson Show/Warner Bros. Pictures/Esquire/YouTube]
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