LOS ANGELES -- "High School Musical" star Vanessa Anne Hudgens has apologized to her fans for racy photos -- including one of her in the nude -- that turned up on the Internet last week.

"I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken these photos," the 18-year-old Hudgens said in a statement Friday. "I am thankful for the support of my family and friends."

Hudgens plays the brainy student Gabriella opposite her high school's basketball star, Troy (Zac Efron), in the Disney Channel's wildly successful television movies "High School Musical" and "High School Musical 2."

The photo -- which shows Hudgens posing naked in what appears to be a red shower curtain in a bathroom -- surfaced last week -- a little less than a month after the "High School Musical" sequel debuted to a record audience in August.

A Disney representative Friday denied a published report saying that Hudgens was going to be dropped from the upcoming "High School Musical 3."

"Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment," said Disney Channel spokeswoman Patti McTeague. "We hope she's learned a valuable lesson."

Hudgens' publicist, Jill Fritzo, confirmed through her client last week that the pictures were of Hudgens. Fritzo would not comment on who took the pictures and how they slipped out onto the Internet.