11 January 2023 , 19:18
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Austin Butler has been accused of snubbing his ex-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens as he opened up about his role in Elvis.
The 31-year-old actor said "a friend" had encouraged him to portray the legendary singer, but fans were quick to point out it was in fact his former partner.
People have flocked to Twitter to slam Austin for 'shading' High School Musical star Vanessa, 34, with some people claiming he owes his career to her.
Austin said: "So I was looking at Christmas lights and there was an Elvis Christmas song on the radio.
"I was with a friend of mine and I was singing along and my friend kind of looks over at me and goes, 'You gotta play Elvis'."
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Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler were together for almost a decade (Getty Images)
The actor described his former partner as 'a friend' (WireImage)"I said, 'Oh I mean, that's such a long shot.' It was one of those throwaway moments.
"And then a couple weeks later I was playing the piano and I never really sang in front of any of my friends or anything.
"That same friend was there and I was just playing the piano and she said, 'I'm serious, you got to figure out how you can get the rights to a script to write something'," he said at the Hollywood Reporter's Actors Roundtable.
Vanessa shared the same story on Live with Kelly and Ryan back in 2019, a year before they called it quits.
He gained critical acclaim for his role in Elvis (Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)She also said she was "so proud" of Austin for securing the role.
Reacting to Austin describing the event, one person wrote: "Him calling vanessa hudgens a “friend” PLEASEEEE."
Another tweeted: "He fr owes his career to her," while a third agreed: "Not him pretending he wasnt invented by her."
"Imagine spending entire decade with someone only to refer to them in interviews as a “friend” Iaawd I’d shed real tears," someone else added.
Austin won a Golden Globe for his performance (NBC via Getty Images)
Vanessa described what happened slightly differently (Getty Images for The Met Museum/)Others jumped to Austin's defence, arguing that he probably does think of Vanessa as a friend.
"What’s wrong with him calling V a ‘friend?’ They aren't dating anymore. I swear to God this man breathes a certain way and it’s wrong," one fan said.
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Another suggested: "They very well could be friends today… you don’t know these ppl."
A third person agreed: "Maybe that's what they are now."
Vanessa and Austin had first started dating after meeting on the set of High School Musical in 2011. They were together until 2020 when they parted ways as a result of their busy schedules.