The book “Disney High” examines how Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens became famous after High School Musical

“It was one of the most heartbreaking moments I remember,” said Sweeney, who was president of the Disney/ABC Television Group at the time. “It wasn't an interrogation. It was more of a Oh God, how could this happen to this child? How on earth does someone get access to a child? And the word to be underlined was 'child'. She was just a child.”

The public distribution of the images, which occurred without Vanessa's involvement or consent, amounted to child pornography. Disney's lawyers intervened, stressing that Vanessa was a minor at the time the images were taken, and threatened harsh legal action against any media outlets that published the images. “I remember being so angry at whoever was exploiting her,” Sweeney said.

But the novelty of celebrity hacking and the persistent notion that Disney stars should be infallible role models led to Vanessa being heavily condemned and pilloried. “It was at a time when celebrities were starting to realize that what they thought was private didn't necessarily stay private,” Ross said.

For many experts and commentators, the blame lay more with Vanessa, who took the photos, than with the person who deceived her and shared the photos. “She's broken,” said one LA mother Reuters“She has this teen audience, young teenagers and younger, who admire her and think she's a wonderful, pure, innocent person.” And the Disney Channel's public messaging has done little to change that perception of victim blaming.

“I want to apologize to my fans whose support and trust means everything to me,” Vanessa wrote in a curated statement a few days after the leak. “I am ashamed of this situation and regret ever taking these photos.”

Rumors circulated in the tabloid press that Disney was planning to remove Vanessa from the third High School Musical Film for which casting negotiations were still underway. However, Disney stressed that they were still in talks with all the lead actor. “Vanessa has apologized for her obvious mistake,” said Disney Channel's PR director at the time, Patti McTeague, in a statement. “We hope she has learned a valuable lesson.”

Despite the reprimanding tone of that statement, people on the ground say the matter was handled with more compassion behind the scenes by station bosses. “What I heard in the hallways was not, 'This is a property. We don't want to screw it up.'” High School Musical said author Peter Barsocchini. “People had an attitude like, 'She's just a child. Leave her alone.'”

Looking back, network executives reiterated to me that they never considered removing Vanessa from the film or punishing her in any way. “We decided Vanessa is part of the family and will remain part of the family,” Ross said. The “lesson” they taught Vanessa, according to Sweeney, was: “Protect yourself. Protect your privacy. Protect your being.”

“From Disney's perspective, it wasn't like, 'You're a bad girl. You shouldn't have done that,'” Sweeney reflected 16 years later. “It was like, 'You're a young woman. Be careful out there.' I know the media picked up on that as a scolding, but she was surrounded by a lot of women in corporate jobs who didn't want anything bad to happen to her.”