By late Friday night, the headlines read "Disney Stands by High School Musical Star." Which meant that -- in spite of what a Mouse House spokesperson called " ... obviously a lapse in judgment" -- the Walt Disney Company wasn't going to distance itself from Vanessa Hudgens. Punish this tween favorite just because a single naked picture of her had popped up on the Web.
Of course, that was before reports of other nude photos began surfacing. According to "People" magazine, long before she played Gabriella Montez in the "High School Musical" films, Ms. Hudgens may have sent some racy pictures to "Drake and Josh" star Drake Bell.
Which is why -- as of Sunday evening -- the word coming out of Burbank wasn't quite so hopeful anymore. Given that Disney now seemed to be dealing with a pattern of behavior when it came to Vanessa & nude photographs, studio execs began wondering if it might be wiser for the company to cut this once-thought-to-be squeaky-clean 18-year-old loose.
As one unnamed official that I spoke with last night put it:
"One error in judgement, one youthful indiscretion, the company might be willing to overlook. But if we're now talking about two different sets of nude photos ... Well, that then suggest a pattern of behavior. And the suits aren't going to like the idea of tying the future of their new multi-million franchise to one flaky teenager. Ms. Hudgens better hope that that second set of photographs doesn't ever surface. Otherwise she's going to be out of a job."
Mind you, this photo (as well as these rumors of a second set of nude photographs) couldn't have come at a worse time. Vanessa and her "High School Musical 2" co-star, Zac Efron, are currently touring the globe as part of the worldwide roll-out of this new Disney Channel TV movie. Where Ms. Hudgens -- jsut as she was initially denying reports that the National Enquirer had somehow acquired nude photographs of her -- was quoted in an interview as saying:
"I'm a good kid. I've been brought up with very good morals, and I'm not going to go out and do something I don't want other kids to do ... I love being a role model because, in Hollywood, there aren't a lot of role models to look up to ... The fact that there's a whole bunch of good kids coming out who are now stepping into the limelight, I'm very proud of that."
Mind you, at this point in the "HSM2" press tour, Vanessa has canned all of the "role model" talk. After issuing a statement that said ...
“I want to apologize to my fans, whose support and trust means the world to me. I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken these photos. I am thankful for the support of my family and friends.”
... Ms. Hudgens then let her publicist, Jill Fritzo, do the talking for her. Fritzo told members of the press on Friday that ...
"This was a photo which was taken privately ... It is a personal matter and it is unfortunate that this has become public."
Which then led Disney officials to release their own statement. Which read:
"Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment. We hope she's learned a valuable lesson."
Which Mouse House executives had hoped would be the end of this matter. That this embarassing episode would then play itself out over the weekend. That -- by Monday morning -- the press would have moved on to some other story involving a celebrity that had done something stupid. And as for Vanessa's nude photo ... Well, when it came time to negotiate Ms. Hudgens' contract for "High School Musical 3," studio officials that I've spoken with suggested that the company would have probably used this incident as an excuse to keep Vanessa's fee down for the next film in the series.
But now that rumors of a second set of nude photographs have begun circulating (More to the point, now that the Walt Disney Company -- based on those record-breaking ratings that "High School Musical 2" received last month -- is reportedly toying with the idea of producing two additional sequels to this Disney Channel Original, rather that just the previously announced "High School Musical 3") ... Mickey may have no choice but to drop Vanessa.
As that unnamed source at the studio told me last night:
"Look, it's not as if we're talking about the Paris Hilton sex tape here. If it's just the one nude photo, we can then spin this incident as a single stupid mistake that a naive young performer made. But if this is the first of a series of naked pictures that are going to start turning up on the Web, we're going to have no choice. We're going to have to cut Vanessa loose then. The 'High School Musical' franchise is just too important to the company right now to let one performer's behavior ruin its appeal."
But what do you folks think? Is it alright for the Walt Disney Company to basically overlook Ms. Hudgens' first nude photograph, but then lower the boom if should any additional naked pictures of Vanessa pop up on the Web?
Your thoughts?
Uh, no offense to anyones morals here, but I think some of you guys are overreacting here. Obviously, she made a stupid, stupid desicion at some point (whenever these pics were taken) but I really don't think it's that big a deal.
It's a juicy peice of gossip, that'll stick around for a week or two, then dissapear.
I really don't think it would be smart for Disney to pull Hudgens out of HSM, and risk endangering the franchise over this.
Also, some of you seem to think that the pictures were intended for Zac Efron, her boyfriend and co-star on High School Musical. While this certainly is a possibility, I highly doubt it. I have seen the pictures and Vanessa looks a lot younger in the photos than she does now... This makes sense based on the report from People.com. While the accuracy of the article hasn't been confirmed, it does mention (based on insider info) that the pictures were taken two years ago and were sent to Nickelodeon star Drake Bell... Who knows exactly who the pics were intended for, but there's no denying that Vanessa looks younger in the photos than she does in the movie.
"Whatever happened to right and wrong? Do we not know the difference between being a child and being an adult?
And anyone who says, "It was just for her boyfriend" needs to wise up. Do you also say that about teenagers who get pregnant? "She only slept with her boyfriend". Or maybe, "He only did drugs with his girlfriend". Wrong is wrong regardless of who you do it with." - CAPTAINHOOK91
Bravo Captain ...
I couldn't agree with you more ...
As a parrent of a 13 year old girl .... I can honestly say I would only feel slightly more "relieved" if I found out shes sending nude pictures of herself to a 15 year old guy .... then say ... a 39 year old pretending to be a 15 year old guy. Because THAT is who is seeing these pictures now.
Bottom line .... No one wold be looking at these pictures if she didnt take them to begin with.
People ... this is NOT how kids ages 0 to 17 should be "having fun".
I can't believe anyone (but kids) would see this differently.
I didn't say it's how kids should be having fun, nor do I condone the behavior, and this isn't how I have fun with my friends, (I'm 19 FTR)
All I'm saying is that this shouldn't lead to her not being brought back for the HSM sequeals.
One would think that when folks from Disney had learned about the nude photo, they would have asked, "Is this the only photo or are there more?" Assuming Ms. Hudgens answered that question honestly, then it doesn't matter if there are more photos out there, since Disney is sticking by her. Now, if she lied, then the story changes.
As an American living overseas I can understand exactly why other people in the world read these stories and then shake their heads...not at the stupid actions of a young woman with poor judgement skills, but the over-hyped feeding frenzy from the press and the hypocritical reactions from the general public. Which one is actually worse?
Only in America...
ok, so my previous thread was incorrect, as i believed that you had not commented on this story. sorry, i honestly didn't see this when i did a search.
but to add my opinion. the other photos sound like paparazi (sp?) pics, and not of her in the nude. we should remember that her privacy has been violated by someone.
as for "firing" her, i don't think so. if they do, i think zac will bail on hsm3. i think he wants an opportunity to bail, but will move forward for $$$, fun and fans. if they try to replace vanessa it will be a perfect oppotunity for zac efron to refuse the role.
he seems to have several other projects already lined up.
and i must also give vanessa credit because she isn't denying her behavior, which she could have as most people believed the nude photo was a fake.
First off, I highly doubt Vanessa Hudgens (sp?) is actually 18. Remember that actors and other entertainers regularly shave their ages; Motown billed Michael Jackson as being 8 years old in 1969 when he was actually 12. She's probably 21 (or even older) and her agent shaved her age for publicity purposes. So the previous nude pics were likely taken when she was of age. Dumb move, but not likely to get her fired. Hey, Rachel McAdams had a hard time finding work after she *refused* to take it all off for Vanity Fair.
I doubt HSM will lose ratings over this. It likely means VH'll have a harder time renegotiating her contract when it's up for renewal.
Still, I have no respect for the dirtbag who released these pics onto the Net, and the media who have been stirring up this controversy.
TMZ.com reports that new pix of Vanessa have shown up:
"Vanessa Hudgens canceled her appearance on 'The Tonight Show' last night, the same day that more saucy pictures of the 'High School Musical' star appeared on the Internet.
Though she doesn't bare all this time, according to the New York Daily News, the alleged snaps show Vanessa in a near-lip-lock with another girl, and apparently massaging a female friend's breast. Oddly enough, Hudgens was also 'caught' by paparazzi yesterday coming out of an L.A. church with her family.
Hudgens blamed her no-show at 'Tonight' on a 'scheduling conflict.'"
We'll soon see if Jim's source was right; if so, this should be it for her partnership with Disney.
Jim Hill brings you the latest on the "High School Musical" crisis. To be specific, what the Mouse is now doing to keep this story out of the news
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