Vanessa Nude pics led to Lion King snub
Ugly Betty star Vanessa Williams has revealed she was axed from Disney’s The Lion King after nude snaps of her were leaked.
The actress and singer was in the running to voice Nala in the 1994 animated film but was dropped when a photographer sold the revealing pictures to men’s magazine Penthouse.
Williams said a former Disney chairman declared she would “never be Disney material” and cut her from the production.
But the 56-year-old, who was forced to give up her Miss America crown over the pictures scandal, said she got her “sweet revenge” when she was asked to sing Colors of the Wind on the soundtrack of Disney’s 1995 hit Pocahontas.
It came after she gained global success with her song Save the Best for Last, which was nominated for a Grammy in 1993 and reached No3 in the UK.
Chatting to singer Jessie Ware on the Table Manners podcast, Wil liams said: “They were doing The Lion King, they called me down to play Nala… fantastic.
“I get ba ck to my house and my agent says, ‘ Disney said you’re not Disney material’.
“Jeffrey Katzenberg said, ‘ You might be Hollywood pictures but you’ll never be Disney material.’
“So when Pocahontas came and I’d had Save the Best for Last, all of a sudden I was good enough for Disney.
“So it’s kind of sweet revenge but I’ll never forget.”