Disney's "High School Musical" star Vanessa Hudgens has raised eyebrows after promoting witchcraft ahead of her new film, "Dead Hot."
The former Disney Channel star and musician GG Magree feature in the documentary, which sees the pair visit places connected to the spirit world and witchcraft. Speaking with Variety, Hudgens said the inspiration behind the new film came from her own personal spiritual experiences.
"It was a lot more personal than anything I've ever done," she said. "I'm not hiding behind a character as I normally do in films — this is me, exploring something that I am very passionate about."
"Dead Hot" premiered last week on the streaming platform Tubi. The documentary follows the two women on an unscripted trip to Salem, Massachusetts, which is where the 1692 Salem Witch trials took place.
Speaking with Variety, Hudgens said she hoped that the film would make other people curious and "inspired to open their hearts, minds and soul" to witchcraft.
"Trust their intuition and find a bit more peace in the unknown," she added.
Hudgens revealed to Variety that the COVID-19 pandemic provided her with the opportunity to explore a different form of spirituality.
"During 2020, I think we were all looking for ways to better ourselves, to grow and come out of it as better people," she said. "I really started to lean into rituals and manifestation.
"I was actually leading little coven meetings over Zoom with a few other witchy friends. It was such an uplifting community and it had me even more curious about witchcraft. The exploration seemed like a special thing to document and share."
Magree added that they hoped the film could help break the "stigma" surrounding witchcraft.
"The stigma is quite serious, so we wanted to approach it more in like a friendship and in a light way for people like us that are self-taught," she said.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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