Posted By susanharrow on October 17, 2007

Vanessa Hudgens, star of “High School Musical” evidently thought so. In the past few weeks she has topped the search engine searches with over 10,060 queries. Before she bared her body her name was only searched on 350 times in a typical 48 hours.

Some speculate it was a planned career stunt to boost her popularity. If so, how sad is that? What does it say about our culture when youth “role models” like Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears are routinely captured by the paparazzi loaded and sans underwear, knowing that they’ll be photographed from all angles? And instead of hurting their careers, it helps them?

David Bauder of the Associated Press writes, “The Walt Disney Co. is sticking with the 18-year-old star of its wildly successful ‘High School Musical’ franchise, despite her ‘lapse in judgment’ in posing for racy photos that were leaked to the Internet.” Her “caper” may have equally positively effected her status as a sparkly-clean Neutrogena spokesmodel.

Bauder continues, “Hudgens apologized Friday for the photos, which show her smiling as she posed naked and in underwear in a bedroom with a red curtain behind her.”

“Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment,” said Disney Channel spokeswoman Patti McTeague. “We hope she’s learned a valuable lesson.” She said negotiations were ongoing to land all the actors for a “High School Musical 3″ feature film including Hudgens.

What lesson might that be? That going buff means bigger box office sales and movie deals?

“Hudgens, who played the brainy Gabriella in the first two made-for-cable TV movies, told her fans she was sorry. ‘I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken these photos,’ she said. ‘I am thankful for the support of my family and friends.’”

I’d also give a rap on the head to Hudgens’ publicist, Jill Fritzo, who “wouldn’t say anything about who took the pictures and how they slipped out onto the Internet.” She should have known better and had the wherewithal to coach her young client on how to behave. Perhaps a strategy session that involved some brains instead of breasts might be in order next time.

To those of you without the excuse of youth—know that when you do or say something dumb, once it’s been reported in the media, you can never take it back. Consider how you want to grow your publicity in the big picture. Hopefully, your fame will be for something worth mentioning that will contribute to our culture, uplift and enlighten, and won’t rest on baring your breasts or buttocks.

Warmly,

Susan

P.S. Learn how to keep your integrity intact while promoting your product, service or cause with the Soundbite System for Success™. I created these teleclasses turned CDs (+ an online class for easy follow along) for people who wanted to be authentic and entertaining without sacrificing sales. You will learn how to be an “asked back” media guest who audiences love.

Category: Publicity
Tags: Public Image