• Vanessa Hudgens discussed how traumatizing it was for her nude photos to be leaked without her consent back in 2007.
  • She described the ordeal as “f*cked up,” which is so true. (Reminder: She was still a teenager when this happened.)

Vanessa Hudgens was arguably at the height of her Disney career in 2007, right? High School Musical was out, then came High School Musical 2, and if that wasn't amazing enough, Vanessa's debut album, V (which still bops to this day), went certified gold in the United States. And then, someone awful leaked nude photos of her onto the internet without her permission.

Naturally, the photos caused a flurry of negative attention and resulted in Vanessa apologizing for the pictures...even though the leak was so not her fault. “I want to apologize to my fans, whose support and trust mean the world to me,” she said in a statement to E! News after the images first hit the web. “I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken these photos. I am thankful for the support of my family and friends.”

It’s honestly really difficult to even imagine what Vanessa was going through when this happened, especially when you take into account she was only 19 at the time. But now, 12 years later, Vanessa is opening up about what it was like to have her privacy invaded in such a public way.

“It was a really traumatizing thing for me. It’s really f*cked up that people feel like they are entitled enough to share something that personal with the world,” she told Cosmopolitan UK. “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.”

Vanessa had to grapple with more nude photo leaks in 2014 (during the mess that was eventually dubbed Celebgate) and theorized that fans infringe upon actors’ and actresses’ personal lives because they want full access. “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 continued. “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.”

Thankfully, Vanessa has kept her head up and sees the importance of keeping an eye on those close to her. “It’s important to look out for each other, especially in this industry, and realize it’s tough,” she added. “It’s hard enough. Nobody needs to make it harder.”