Vanessa Hudgens Embarrassed by Dane Cook at Teen Choice Awards ’09

Normally, there is probably little that can unfaze “High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens, having years of experience with embarrassing questions coming from the paparazzi. However, few might have imagined that she was about to be completely humiliated by comedian Dane Cook in front of so many people and on such a sensitive topic as personal photos, which is exactly what happened on Sunday night at this year’s edition of Teen Choice Awards, as MTV can confirm.

Cook took the stage to present “Transformers” star Megan Fox and “Twilight” heartthrob Robert Pattinson with the Choice Hottie Awards but, before he actually moved on to read the names of the winners, he thought he might as well crack a joke on a currently highly mediated topic. Vanessa Hudgens, not actually a stranger to scandal, was again in all the headlines for another batch of personal photos that got leaked on the Internet. It was precisely this that Cook made the subject of his joke.

“Before I do the Choice Hotties, can I just say what everybody in the room is thinking but nobody has said?” Cook said the moment he reached the microphone. He then proceeded to call out Vanessa’s name, looking around the audience as if to find her. The camera zooms in on Vanessa’s face as she’s smiling wholeheartedly and waving her hand, clearly not expecting what was about to follow. This is precisely what made the moment all the more embarrassing for the young Disney star, as several publications have also pointed out.

“Girl, you gots to keep your clothes on! Phones are for phone calls, girl.” Cook goes on to say, hinting at the leaked personal photos that Hudgens herself took on her phone and, of course, at the fact that being thus exposed happened to her more than once, which would mean she should have learned her lesson. As the camera zooms in again on Vanessa, it becomes clear that she might actually be the only one not enjoying the joke: the difference in expression is drastic, and she clearly doesn’t know how to react to what Cook just said. Luckily, she doesn’t have to as the comedian moves on to present the Hottie nominees without saying another word of Vanessa.

Because of the target audience of the Teen Choice Awards and perhaps following some pressure from major players in the industry who are still trying to keep the Hudgens scandal out of the media (Disney, presumably, which is trying to maintain her good girl image, word has it), the entire segment has been cut out from the television broadcast. Those interested, though, can see it here.