High School Musical's controversies – Zac Efron 'replaced' row, nude leak and lawsuit

Hit Hollywood blockbuster High School Musical made a splash stateside on this day in 2006 (January 20) – and made stars of its cast in the process.

While it would be another nine months before it reached the UK, the Disney film became a world-wide sensation and spawned two sequels, along with a series on streaming service Disney+.

However, the films and its cast have hit the headlines in recent years.

READ MORE: High School Musical star discovers ‘best friend’ Austin Butler is actually her cousin

From backstage revelations to lawsuits, Daily Star takes a closer look at High School Musical’s biggest controversies.

Zac Efron singing revelation

Zac Efron rose to fame as teenage heartthrob Troy Bolton in High School Musical, where he won the adoration of thousands of fans across the world.

However, viewers were shocked to learn that Zac did not sing any of the songs in the first film.

Instead, the vocals for songs including Breaking Free and The Start of Something New were provided by actor Drew Seeley.

Planet Radio reported that Zac revealed during an interview with Orlando Sentinel that he had recorded his vocals for the songs, but that when the film was released, they were not on there.

However, his vocals can be heard in High School Musical’s subsequent sequels, with the actor saying it was important to him to sing in the films.

“That was a very huge point for me. I had to put my foot down and fight to get my voice on these tracks.

“In the first movie, after everything was recorded, my voice was not on them. I was not really given an explanation. It just kind of happened that way.”

He continued: “Unfortunately, it put me in an awkward position. It’s not something I expected to be addressed. Then High School Musical blew up.

“I’m very fortunate that Drew has gotten proper credit and also that I’ve gotten the opportunity to come back and try it again with my own voice. He’s very talented. I consider myself a regular kid that can carry a tune.”

Fan shock over stunt double

High School Musical followed up its blockbuster success with a feel-good, summer sequel – but fans were recently shocked to learn a secret about one particular scene.

During some pool side fun, Gabriella can be seen diving into the water to save Sharpay after she accidently falls in.

However, fans have only just learn that it is not Gabriella star Vanessa Hudgens diving into the water, but a stunt double.

If you watch the clip closely, Vanessa can be seen on top of a rock and waving to Troy, before her stunt double can clearly be seen.

When a clip of the scene was shared on TikTok in 2022, fans were shocked to realise that the stunt double dived into the water instead of Vanessa.

Taking to the comments section, one said: “The fact they had the budget and time to hire a stunt double for a literal jump in the pool” followed by a laughing emoji.

“[To be fair] the tvs back then were so bad how were we supposed to notice anything,” added a second.

Meanwhile, other fans shared their memories of noticing the stunt double first time around when the film was released, with a third saying: “I always noticed and I remember feeling betrayed as a kid.”

Nude leak

In 2007, private images of Gabriella Montez star Vanessa Hudgens in lingerie, and in the nude, were stolen and shared online.

The actress later apologised for the images, with Disney saying in a statement: “Vanessa has apologised for what was obviously a lapse in judgement. We hope she’s learned a valuable lesson.”

Speaking to Cosmopolitan in 2020 about the incident, Vanessa said: “It was a really traumatising thing for me.

“It’s really f**ked 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.”

Lawsuit

While starring as Troy’s best friend Chad Danforth in the High School Musical Films, actor Corbin Bleu made the 2008 film Free Style.

About a young man trying to achieve success in a motocross competition, the film is reported to have only made $1.3m from its cinema release, foreign distribution and DVD sales.

However in 2011, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that claims were filed against Samuel Goldwyn Films, Del Mar Entertainment, some of the film’s producers and actor Corbin Bleu.

It is alleged that revenue generated fell short of the $8.57m loan to cover the P&A costs, with The Hollywood Reporter saying “lenders blame alleged misrepresentations and poor promotion for their investment going sour.”

They also added that Corbin Bleu was being sued as he had “failed to honour an agreement that called for providing interviews to support the film.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk