Exes Vanessa Hudgens, Austin Butler to (awkwardly?) reunite on the Oscars red carpet?
Vanessa Hudgens will return to host the Countdown to the Oscars for the second year in a row - but it may lead to one awkward encounter for the actress. The 34-year-old's ex-boyfriend Austin Butler is nominated for Best Actor at this year's ceremony, and the pair's friendship status remains up in the air. As previously reported, Austin, 31, failed to give Vanessa the credit many felt she was owed for suggesting he go for the role of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's biopic Elvis, which went on to earn him multiple awards, his first Oscar nomination, and A-list status.WATCH: Trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic with Austin ButlerVanessa will be joined by Lilly Singh and Ashley Graham for the official lead-in to the 95th Oscars and it will air at 6.30/5.30c on ABC, highlighting Oscar nominees, performers and presenters, and giving fans a behind-the-scenes peek at the celebration.Austin and Vanessa dated for nine years before they split in 2020.They met through their mutual best friend, Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa's co-star in the High School Musical trilogy, and Austin's in its spin-off, Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure.Two years after their split, Austin shared that it was a "friend" who encouraged him to audition for the role, sharing on The Hollywood Reporter's Actor's Roundtable: "The month before I heard that Baz [Luhrmann] was making the movie, I was going to look at Christmas lights with a friend, and there was an Elvis Christmas song on the radio and I was singing along, and my friend looked over at me and goes, 'You've got to play Elvis.'"I said, 'Oh, that's such a long shot.' A couple of weeks later, I was playing the piano - I never really sang for any of my friends or anything - and that same friend was there