Austin Butler says he 'was respecting her privacy' when he called ex-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens a 'friend'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Austin Butler opened up on the controversy he faced for calling his ex-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens a “friend” in a previous interview last year. 

The actor explained that he was not trying to downplay their relationship, but rather to protect her privacy.

Austin Butler regrets calling Vanessa Hudgens a 'friend'

In an interview with Esquire, Austin Butler admitted that he made a mistake by referring to Vanessa Hudgens as a “friend” when he talked about his role as Elvis Presley in Elvis.

The actor said that he was respecting her privacy and avoiding topics that would make her uncomfortable. “Oh, yeah, I learned a lesson with that one,” Austin said. 

“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,” he said.

Austin Butler says he still has 'so much love and care' for Vanessa Hudgens

Austin Butler also revealed that he has love and respect for Vanessa Hudgens whom he dated for almost 10 years from 2011 to 2020.

The actor said that he was not trying to erase their history, but rather to honor it.

“I have so much love and care for her,” Austin said, adding “I was in no way trying to erase anything that we had.”

The reason why Austin Butler’s comment caused a backlash was because it contradicted Vanessa Hudgens’ version of the same story.

The actress had previously shared how she encouraged him to play Elvis Presley when they heard his song on the radio.

The story behind Austin Butler calling his ex-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens a 'friend'

“Last December, we were driving along and we were listening to Christmas music and then an Elvis Presley Christmas song came on,” Vanessa said on 'Live With Kelly and Ryan' in 2019, Hollywood Life reported. 

“He had just dyed his hair dark. He’s a natural blond, and I was looking at him and he was singing along and I was like, ‘Babe, you need to play Elvis.’ Then, in January, he was sitting at the piano. 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,’” she said.

Austin Butler told a similar story to The Hollywood Reporter in 2023, but he replaced Vanessa Hudgens with a “friend.” This sparked outrage among fans who felt that he was disrespecting his ex-girlfriend.

“The month before, I heard that [director] Baz [Luhrmann] was making the movie, I was going to look at Christmas lights with a friend, and there was an Elvis Christmas song on the radio,” Austin said.

“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.’ A couple of weeks later, I was playing the piano. 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,’” he said.