LONDON - After actress Vanessa Hudgens was criticised for her recent nude photo scandal, her Bandslam co-stars have jumped to her defence, and insisted that the negativity against her stems from her relationship with actor Zac Efron.

Hudgens, 20, was left shamed faced again this month, after pictures, allegedly showing the star posing topless, were leaked on the Internet.

And she faced further humiliation at the Teen Choice Awards in Los Angeles on August 9, where comic Dane Cook took the stage and told the whole audience that Hudgens needed to “keep” her clothes on.

Ever since, online forums have been buzzing with teenage critics.

But the actress’ co-stars have come forward to defend her, insisting that she is a ’sweet girl’.

“It’s so totally uncool. It’s like, come on. Give me a break,” the Daily Express quoted actor Charlie Saxton as saying.

“She’s such a sweet person, such a nice girl. She really doesn’t deserve all the negativity that she’s getting,” he said.

And fellow actress Aly Michalka believes that the negative comments stem from jealousy about her relationship with hunk Efron.

“I think that it’s about people being hard on people just to be hard on them. It’s hard to avoid that sometimes… I think it really is based on that and I think maybe her being with Zac (Efron),” she added. (ANI)