Austin Butler expressed no disrespect when referring to his former partner, Vanessa Hudgens, whom he dated for nearly a decade, as simply an “old friend” during a recent interview. Speaking with Esquire, the “Elvis” actor clarified that his intention was not to diminish her significance in his life but rather to protect her from unnecessary media scrutiny.
“Oh, yeah, I learned a lesson with that one,” the 32-year-old said when asked about the label in the interview published Tuesday.
“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,” the Oscar nominee continued.
“I have so much love and care for her. It was in no way trying to erase anything.”
Austin Butler noted that the pair were together for a “long time” and told the outlet that he “didn’t want to give up anybody else’s privacy” because he values his own “so much.”
This clarification follows criticism faced by the “Dune” star over a year ago when he appeared to slight his former partner, Vanessa Hudgens, whom he began dating in 2011, during the Hollywood Reporter’s 2023 Actor Roundtable. When questioned about his aspirations to portray the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Butler disclosed that an unnamed “friend” had encouraged him to pursue the role.
“The month before I heard that [director] Baz [Luhrmann] was making the [‘Elvis’] movie, I was going to look at Christmas lights with a friend,” the Golden Globe winner explained.
“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 gotta play Elvis!’”
Despite Butler considering it a “long shot,” his unnamed friend, presumably Hudgens, persisted in encouraging him to pursue the role.
“A couple of weeks later, I was playing the piano,” he continued at the time. “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.’”
Shortly thereafter, Butler received a call from his agent informing him that Luhrmann was developing a film centered around the iconic “Jailhouse Rock” singer.
While Butler didn’t explicitly name Hudgens, 35, fans swiftly deduced that he was referring to the “Spring Breakers” actress since she had previously recounted the same narrative during an appearance on “Live with Kelly and Ryan.”
Although Hudgens witnessed her idea materialize, the couple parted ways in January 2020, coinciding with Butler’s trip to Australia for the filming of the Oscar-nominated movie. Despite the initial oversight, Butler eventually acknowledged his former partner for encouraging him to pursue the role initially.
“I was with my partner at the time,” he told the Los Angeles Times a few weeks after facing backlash over the apparent diss.
“We’d been together for so long and she had this sort of clairvoyant moment and so I really, I owe her a lot for believing in me.”
Both Hudgens and Butler have moved forward following their separation, with the “Masters of Air” star now romantically involved with model Kaia Gerber. Meanwhile, the “Princess Switch” actress has recently tied the knot with baseball player Cole Tucker.
