Fans were in for a real treat when the cast of High School Musical reunited to sing their hit song “We’re All In This Together” for a special musical event on Thursday, April 16. Yep, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Lucas Grabeel and Zac Efron all teamed up for “Disney’s Family Singalong” concert, and boy, was it epic seeing them all together again.
But some people were not happy when they noticed that Zac didn’t participate in the song. Instead, he sent in a video message recorded on his phone that was used to introduce the cast.
“Hi everyone, I hope that you’re safe, and that you’re healthy and you’re doing as well as possible during these unprecedented times,” the actor said. “It’s my greatest pleasure to introduce a musical performance by some of my oldest friends, and some new ones. I hope you enjoy — and remember: we are all in this together.”
So why didn’t he belt out the lines of the epic throwback song with the rest of his castmates? Well, some fans have speculated that he didn’t participate in the musical aspect of the event because he actually never sang the song in the first place. Yep, for those who didn’t know, Drew Seeley actually sang Zac’s lines in the first HSM movie.
Others have suggested Zac’s absence from the musical number was because it was hard for the creators to get in contact with him. Before showing his video message to fans, host Ryan Seacrest explained that, “This star is hunkered down in the middle of nowhere with patchy WiFi, but he does not want to miss out on tonight.” Plus, according to director Kenny Ortega, Zac was a last minute addition to the reunion!
“We couldn’t reach Zac until late but when we did, he immediately jumped in, of course,” he told Deadline before the special aired. “Everyone we reached out to was quick — and you’ll see it in their spirit and the way they come together from their homes. They recognize this is an opportunity to strengthen spirits for those joining us for the broadcast.”
Other fans have theorized that his rocky past with ex-girlfriend Vanessa may have contributed to his absence. For those who forgot, they dated for five magical years, but when they called it quits in 2010, they didn’t end things on great terms. And in 2017, Vanessa revealed they are no longer on speaking terms.
“I completely lost contact with him,” she said.
The actress also revealed to Cosmopolitan in January 2020 that she hadn’t “seen Zac or spoken to him in years.”
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