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?