Vanessa Hudgens has reacted to the unusual vocal transformation of her ex-partner Austin Butler.
Butler worked with an accent coach in order to prepare for his Golden Globe-winning role as Elvis Presley in the musical biopic Elvis.
In the months since the film’s release, however, fans have noticed that Butler has continued to speak in what sounds like Elvis’s deep Southern drawl in out-of-character public appearances – including during his recent acceptance speech at the Globes.
On Thursday (19 January), Hudgens shared her concise but amusing response to the phenomenon, commenting on an Instagram slideshow sharing multiple memes about Butler’s new accent.
“Crying,” she wrote, suggesting laughter.
The Princess Switch star dated Butler between 2011 and 2019.
Butler has also shown that he can see the funny side of his own accent shift, referring to it during an appearance on Saturday Night Live.
“There’s people out there who say that ever since I played Elvis, my voice has changed,” the actor said. “That it got deeper, more Elvis-y. But that’s not true. I’ve always sounded like this, and I can prove it.”
A clip was then shown of Butler speaking, filmed around a decade ago.
While the real clip does prove his voice was noticably higher than it currently sounds, the SNL video was edited to make Butler’s pitch wildly different.
Backstage at the Globes, he also addressed claims that he had appeared to adopt Presley’s accent permanently.
“I don’t think I sound like him still, but I guess I must because I hear it a lot,” he responded.
“I often liken it to when somebody lives in another country for a long time,” Butler said. “I had three years where [Elvis] was my only focus in life, so I’m sure there’s just pieces of my DNA that will always be linked in that way.”
Butler’s new accent may have inspired a fair amount of mockery online, but it could all be worth it: the 31-year-old actor is currently considered the frontrunner to win Best Actor at this year’s Academy Awards.
