Austin Butler CONFIRMS ex Vanessa Hudgens was a ‘friend’ who predicted the role of Elvis

Austin Butler credits his ex-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens with manifesting his career-defining portrayal of Elvis Presley … before Baz Luhrmann’s biopic was even announced.

The 31-year-old actor, who is nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe for his role as The King, originally told THR it was a “friend” who encouraged him to take on the role.

Butler received backlash for seemingly downplaying his nearly nine-year relationship with Hudgens.

But now, in a new interview with the LA Times, he confirmed that the “boyfriend” was in fact the 34-year-old actress/singer.

Manifestation: Austin Butler credits his ex-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens with manifesting his career-defining portrayal of Elvis Presley … before Baz Luhrmann’s biopic was even announced; seen in 2019

The 31-year-old actor, who is nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe for his role as The King, originally told THR it was a “friend” who encouraged him to take on the role; seen in Elvis (2022)

‘That’s correct. I was dating my partner at the time,” Butler replied after the outlet reached out to him for clarification.

‘[Hudgens and I had] She was together for so long, she had that kind of psychic moment, and so I really owe her a lot for believing in me,” he said.

Butler, who has since won a Golden Globe for best actor for the role, recalled the moment Hudgens told THR earlier this month, “You gotta play Elvis.”

But he didn’t mention the High School Musical grad by name, nor did he refer to her as his former girlfriend.

‘A month before I heard that Baz [Luhrmann] was shooting the movie, I was looking at the Christmas lights and there was an Elvis Christmas carol on the radio and I was with a friend of mine,” he said.

It was her: But now, in a new interview with the LA Times, he confirmed the ‘girlfriend’ was in fact the actress/singer, 34; seen in July 2019

“I was singing along and my boyfriend looked over at me and said, ‘You have to play Elvis.’ I said, ‘Oh, that’s so far fetched.’

“A few weeks later I was playing the piano,” he continued. “I never really sang for any of my friends or anything. The same friend was there and I played the piano.

‘ She said, ‘I’m serious. You have to figure out how to get the rights to a script.’ Then my agent called and said, ‘So Baz Luhrmann is making an Elvis movie.’

Shortly after the interview was published on Jan. 10, many took to Twitter to call him “disgusting” and “disrespectful” for leaving them out.

‘[Hudgens and I had] She was together for so long, she had that kind of psychic moment, and so I really owe her a lot for believing in me,” he said. seen in 2019

Winner: He has since won the Golden Globe for Best Actor for the role and is up for an Oscar; seen in January 2023

In 2019, Hudgens shared the exact same story during an appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan.

Hudgens, who was still romantically involved with Butler at the time, recalled, “Last December we were driving along and we heard Christmas music and then there was an Elvis Presley Christmas carol.”

‘He had just dyed his hair dark. He’s naturally blonde and I looked at him and he sang along and I said, ‘Babe, you gotta play Elvis.’

“Then in January he sat at the piano,” she continued.

“And he’s playing and he’s singing and I’m like, ‘I don’t know how, but you have to figure out how to play Elvis. I don’t know how we get rights or what we do, but you have to play him.

Reminiscence: Butler recalled the moment Hudgens told him on THR earlier this month “You gotta play Elvis”. But he didn’t mention the High School Musical grad by name, nor did he refer to her as his former girlfriend; seen in Elvis (2022)

Backlash: Shortly after the interview was published on Jan. 10, many took to Twitter to call him “disgusting” and “disrespectful” for leaving them out of his story

Butler landed the role in July 2019 alongside Tom Hanks, who played infamous Elvis manager Colonel Tom Parker.

Filming began on January 28, 2020 in Australia but stalled just two months later after Hollywood shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Filming resumed in Queensland in September 2020 and concluded in March 2021. Elvis was released in June 2022.

While he was highly acclaimed for his performance, Butler was equally ridiculed for sticking to Elvis’ thick Memphis draw despite being a native Californian.

Recently, Hudgens appeared to stalk her ex over his dramatic voice change after she commented on a post asking if his accent was “real,” which joked, “He went to Lady Gaga School of Oscars campaign acting.” .”

Roast: Vanessa Hudgens appeared to shadow her ex-boyfriend after he was ruthlessly mocked for keeping his Elvis accent for Baz Luhrmann’s biopic

Public shadow: Fans were quick to catch on to this sly comment from Vanessa, which implied she was “crying” and laughing at the joke

Fans were quick to notice that underneath, Hudgens replied that she was “crying,” which was perceived as crying over her head with laughter.

The post comes from social media influencer Ryan Scott, who has nearly 40,000 followers on Instagram.

The joke refers to the over-the-top effort Lady Gaga went to when fighting for an Oscar nomination for her role in House of Gucci, which didn’t go well for the pop singer

His caption evokes the way the A Star is Born actress was notoriously mocked for her subpar Italian accent when portraying Patrizia Reggiani.

At the time, a dialect coach working with her co-star Salma Hayek on the film remarked that New York-raised Gaga’s accent sounded more “Russian.”

His defense: Austin has said on numerous occasions that the accent is “in his DNA,” having worked on the critically acclaimed film for two to three years

Star-cast: Butler landed the role in July 2019 alongside Tom Hanks, who played infamous Elvis manager Colonel Tom Parker; (L-R) Austin Butler, Helen Thomson, Tom Hanks and Richard Roxburgh in Elvis (2022)

And similar to Butler, Gaga – real name Stefani Germanotta – insisted in a British Vogue profile that she “lived as [Reggiani] for a year and a half. And I spoke of that with an accent for nine months.’

Coming to Butler’s defense shortly after his Golden Globe win, his voice coach Iren Bartlett said, “What you saw in that speech at the Golden Globes, that’s him. It’s real, it’s not fake.’

“I’m sorry people say that, you know, it’s still acting [but] he is indeed taken [the voice of Presley] on board,” she said, adding that the change could be permanent: “I don’t know how long this will last or if it will be there forever.”

Fans have been confused by the voice change since filming for Elvis wrapped nearly two years ago.

Irene went on to explain why Austin still sounds the same as he does in the film: “Because of the COVID shutdowns, he was working on it all the time and it’s difficult to turn off something that you’ve put so much focus on [and] Time is running.’

Moving on: Since their split, both Vanessa and Austin have found themselves in new long-term relationships