The 'Tick, Tick...Boom!' star reacts to a joke about the 'Elvis' actor who delivered his best actor acceptance speech at the Golden Globes in fake Elvis accent.
- Jan 20, 2023
AceShowbiz - Vanessa Hudgens can't help weighing in on Austin Butler, who has been trolled for still speaking in Elvis Presley accent after portraying the late singing legend in "Elvis". Joining in the roast, the actress took a playful swipe at her ex-boyfriend while chiming in on the debate surrounding his "Elvis" voice.
Vanessa, who dated Austin from 2011 until their split in January 2020 or late 2019, was caught commenting on a joke about her ex-boyfriend's fake accent. An Instagram user reposted Page Six's tweet quoting a voice coach who praised Austin's "genuine" "Elvis" accent that might remain "forever."
@ryinskott captioned the post, "He went to the Lady Gaga school of Oscar campaign acting." The "High School Musical" star apparently found the joke amusing as she wrote in the comment section, "Crying."
Austin recently recalled how Vanessa encouraged him to pursue the role of Elvis during The Hollywood Reporter's Actors Roundtable. Referring to his ex-girlfriend as a "friend," he said, "The month before I heard that Baz [Luhrmann] was making the movie, I was going to look at Christmas lights with a friend. 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 got to play Elvis.' I said, 'Oh, that's such a long shot.' "
"A couple of weeks later, I was playing the piano," he continued. "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.' "
While the "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" star didn't specifically name Vanessa, the actress shared a nearly identical story years ago when they were still together. "Last December, we were driving along and we were listening to Christmas music, and then an Elvis Presley Christmas song came on," she said in a 2019 episode of "Live with Kelly and Ryan". "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.' "
Austin ended up nabbing the lead role in the Elvis biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann. He won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the King of Rock and Roll. He was later trolled for still speaking in Elvis accent when delivering his acceptance speech.
