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Former ‘High School Musical’ actress Vanessa Hudgens has opened up about the time her nude photos were leaked online
Vanessa Hudgens was one of the first Hollywood celebrities to have her private, nude photos leaked across the web. The incident happened in September 2007, when the actress was just 19 years old – and it has impacted her life ever since. In a new interview with Cosmopolitan magazine, the now-31-year-old said the entire experience left her feeling traumatised.
At the time, she was criticised for having taken the photos in the first place – so much so that she was forced to make a public apology. The fact that internet users had violated the privacy of a young woman was, at the time, irrelevant.
“It was a really traumatising thing for me,” Hudgens told Cosmopolitan. “It’s really f*cked up that people feel like they are entitled enough to share something that personal with the world.
“As an actor, you completely lose all grip of your own privacy and it’s really sad. It feels like that shouldn’t be the case, but unfortunately, if enough people are interested, they’re going to do everything they can to get to know as much about you as they can, which is flattering, I guess, but then people take it too far and end up divulging things that should be personal.”
Hudgens went on to say, “I think that is because there’s a disconnect when you see your favourite actress on the screen, and you see them now on your TV in your homes, and you can watch them whenever you want. There’s almost – I don’t want to say lack of respect because that sounds negative – but it just makes you feel like you know them even though you don’t.”
Nowadays, Vanessa does her best to stand up for herself. “If I feel uncomfortable,” she said, “I’m going to walk away or let that person know they’re making me feel uncomfortable. Then, if they don’t respect that, they can go f*ck off. If someone doesn’t like that, literally they can f*ck off. As long as you hold your ground, no one will bring you down.”
Photo: Vanessa Hudgens via Instagram
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