Jan. 4 (UPI) — Vanessa Hudgens says having her nude photos leaked was a “traumatizing” experience.
The 31-year-old actress and singer said in the February issue of Cosmopolitan U.K. that it was “really sad” to have her privacy violated in a nude photo hack in 2007.
“It was a really traumatizing thing for me,” Hudgens said. “It’s really [expletive] 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.”
Hudgens said some people take their interest in celebrity lives “too far” and develop a false sense of familiarity.
“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,” the star said.”
“I think that is because there’s a disconnect when you see your favorite actress on the screen, and you see them now on your TV in your homes, and you can watch them whenever you want,” she added. “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.”
Hudgens, who was 18 at the time of the leak, had apologized for taking the photos after they surfaced. Conversation about and perception of such leaks has shifted since, with many now considering nude photo leaks a sex crime.
Hudgens was at the height of her “High School Musical” fame when the leak occurred. She told Cosmopolitan that her Disney Channel days feel like “another lifetime” ago.
“I know the things that matter the most — I do love my job, but my job isn’t everything. My family is — my partner and my friends are the things that keep me grounded,” Hudgens said.
Hudgens has been dating fellow Disney Channel alum Austin Butler since 2011.
“It’s eight years this year — FaceTime, good communication, respect and trust [are what keep us going],” she said.
Hudgens most recently starred in the Netflix movie “The Knight Before Christmas” and will star in an upcoming “Princess Switch” sequel.
