When news surfaced earlier this week about Vanessa Anne Hudgens (star of High School Musical and High School Musical 2) having a nude photo surface on the Internet, I was appalled. She was under 18 at the time, which to me is a red flag because of the fact that she was underage.

A few male friends have contemplated looking up the photo and one actually did. Typical red-blooded American male stuff but I just can’t believe how Hudgens has opened up herself to such ogling over her body. I mean, don’t get me wrong, she’s gorgeous and all, but no matter how pretty you are, I don’t necessarily think it’s right to pose nude, especially underage. Some say it’s art, and I’ll agree, some photos can be. Somehow Hudgens’ photo just doesn’t seem like it’s exactly a work of art.

I wonder if she ever thought that someday the photo could surface. I’ll admit, sometimes I don’t think before I speak or act, and I always regret the actions that follow if it’s a bad outcome. I know she was young at the time, but where were her parents? Her guardian? Some older form of guidance? Who lets a young girl get involved in what could possibly be described as amateur porn?

It’s a shame too, because Hudgens is cast as such a good girl. Now, her reputation that has made her so famous is tainted. The question now is, can she survive post-scandal? As an employee of Disney, she very well could be fired. However, Jessica Biel left 7th Heaven years ago after appearing topless on the cover of Gear Magazine with the headline “Fallen Angel.” Biel was 17. Since then, she has gone on to become a successful actress.

It’ll certainly be interesting to see what mothers think of Hudgens now and if she is such a good role model. In my opinion, I think that younger kids are more willing to see Hudgens as her character and her character only. School-age children though, I think they are more prone to seeing her beyond HSM and HSM2.