A private photo showing “High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens nude and standing in front of a mirror may derail her chances of appearing in the movie version of the popular franchise. The scandalous story broke when the photo of the 18-year-old actress first started appearing on the internet this week. Representatives of the Walt Disney Company, which owns the rights to “High School Musical”, were left scrambling as confirmation from Hudgens representatives finally arrived on Friday. “This was a photo which was taken privately. It is a personal matter, and it is unfortunate that this has become public,” said Hudgens representatives in a statement given to the press.

The news comes as a devastating blow for Disney as it prepares to broadcast “High School Musical 2” this weekend. The immensely popular TV specials have been a lucrative cash cow for the company and have elevated the show’s young stars to the forefront of Hollywood and the music industry. Hudgens plays the character of Gabriella on the show, an innocent, sweet science nerd who has a romance with the school’s star quarterback (played by Zac Efron). Disney has turned the TV specials into a live concert, a bestselling soundtrack and is currently preparing a third film which would spin the series off as a feature film.

Whether this latest misstep is one that will help or hinder the film career of Hudgens is hard to pin down at the present time. Based on previous incidents some female celebrities that have undergone similar kind of unwanted public attention have had their careers go bust (“Showgirls” star Elizabeth Berkley) or boom (Paris Hilton).

This entry was posted on Friday, September 7th, 2007 at 11:38 pm and is filed under Vanessa Hudgens. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.