A jaw-dropping appearance of Zac Efron has set the internet ablaze in 2021. The hunky High School Musical alum has always been at the top of Hollywood’s baes, thanks to his youthful charm, washboard abs, dazzling blue eyes, and always-on-point brown hair.

The once-charming actor seemed to lose his appeal a few years later when his face appeared noticeably larger and more sculpted. Fans were taken aback by the dramatic size of his jaw, leading to rampant speculation that Efron had undergone some form of plastic surgery that many felt had “ruined” his appearance.

Is it true that Zac Efron, who could make everyone swoon by smiling, had destroyed his trademark face with plastic surgeries? Or is there something else going on? Here’s the truth about his dramatically changed face.

Zac Efron’s Jaw Goes Viral, and the Internet Can’t Handle His New Look

Zack Efron pic.twitter.com/vn56ZmiNcO

— E.🌻❯❯❯❯ (@fixtoddlovato) April 23, 2021

Rumors and speculations emerged in April 2021 when Zac Efron looked noticeably different while promoting Bill Nye’s Earth Day Musical on Facebook.

Alarmed fans quickly pointed out his large jaw and attributed the bizarre change to plastic surgery. Efron’s jaw soon became the trending topic on Twitter, which was flooded with sarcastic memes about the actor’s different-looking face.

Some couldn’t help but notice the resemblance between Efron and Squidward. “Holy s–t I can’t believe Zac Efron is Handsome Squidward,” @Maister_SSB captioned the wildly circulated photo of the actor, along with a photo of the most handsome octopus in Bikini Bottom.

Others were in complete denial when they first saw the new Efron. “No way, that picture has to be fake. Wtf is wrong with his face,” @mumihp exclaimed. Another user (@The_Will_OF_D99) described his face as “gross,” questioning in shock, “Is this legit? Or a meme?”

The meme community showed no mercy to Efron’s seemingly unnatural face, which was compared to The Weeknd in the “Save Your Tears” music video and even human Shrek.

Plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Youn offered his own explanation in a TikTok video.

Watch on TikTok

Despite the flood of exaggerated memes about Efron’s jaw, Dr. Youn did not believe that the actor had any plastic surgery to reshape his line, nor did he have Botox or fillers.

“I actually think he’s had dental surgery, not plastic surgery,” the doctor and famous TikToker speculated. “That’s why he’s swollen in these areas. If you’ve had your wisdom teeth taken out, did you look like this?”.

Zac Efron’s Jaw Incident: Is It Responsible for His Fuller Face?

 

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Long before Efron’s jaw became a hot topic, it was confirmed that the Parkland actor shattered it in a house accident. Rumors about the potential plastic surgery were shut down by an E! News report on November 13, 2013. The outlet reported that Efron’s mouth was wired shut after slipping at the entrance of his Los Angeles-area home in a water puddle, which he did not notice.

Following the unexpected incident, the actor suffered a broken jaw and had a wound that required stitches; however, it was anticipated that he would make a complete recovery.

Michael B. Jordan, who worked alongside Efron in the 2014 rom-com, assured worried fans at a New York event after the jaw incident. “I spoke to him,” he said at the time. “ I texted him. He’s good. He’s as good as can be. He’ll be OK!” he told US Weekly.

Two months after the incident, Efron finally shared in-depth details about how he broke his jaw.

“I was running through my house and I slipped and fell on my face,” he shared while appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live on January 30 (per US Weekly). “Let me start over, because the story starts kind of cool. I have a fountain in my house. That’s kind of dope, right? So I was running through and slipped on water and hit my chin on the fountain in my house. It’s not a big fountain, but it’s a fountain in my house.”

Zac had a “pretty gnarly” jaw injury that day, but luck was on his side; his younger brother, Dylan Efron, was there when he slipped. Thankfully, he was quick to recognize the seriousness of his brother’s injury and that he required immediate medical attention.

Efron needed a lot of TLC when he left the hospital. “I was drinking foods for six weeks — only liquid foods. It sucked,” he complained. “I lost, like, 10-12 pounds.”

The Actor Sets the Record Straight

Image credits: @zacefron

Zac Efron addressed the rumors about his plastic surgery during an interview. Entertainment Tonight on September 15, 2022. “You had to recently dispel rumors that you had undergone plastic surgery,” the ET interviewer confronted Efron. “you actually experienced your jaw being shattered in 2013.”

Efron playfully pointed out that his mom told him about the fans’ rumors. “I never really read the internet, so, I don’t really care,” he claimed.

The Extremely Wicked star called the rumors that have been circulating the internet “funny,” recalling that the mishap “sucked” and that he “almost died.”

In a new Men’s Health cover story, Zac Efron shared that his jaw injury happened during a rough stretch when he also tore his ACL, broke his wrist, dislocated his shoulder, threw out his back, and — most seriously — shattered his jaw. All of these injuries happened within the same year and a half.

In a new Men’s Health cover story, the Hollywood heartthrob revealed that his facial injury occurred in the same period in which he suffered a torn ACL, a broken wrist, a dislocated shoulder, a thrown-out back, and, most notably, a horribly shattered jaw.

Efron recalled running in socks and slipping in his house, hitting his jaw against the fountain’s granite corner and losing consciousness — only to wake up to his chin bone practically hanging off his face.

He explained that he worked with a specialist and went through physical therapy to recover from the injury fully. Normally, the masseter muscle — used for chewing — works smoothly with the other muscles in the face “like a symphony,” he said. But after the accident, the muscles inside his jaw and face had to overcompensate to make up for the damage.

Despite being committed to his injury rehabilitation, Efron took time out from his therapy when he was in Australia, and this was when he appeared in Bill Nye’s special video that sparked all the rumors (per Men’s Health). “The masseters just grew,” he said as he shrugged his shoulders. “They just got really, really big.”

His jaw transformation even became a trending joke on social media, fueling a wave of mewing memes and comparisons, as users speculated whether his appearance was due to a cosmetic procedure or muscle change.

The actor credits his success at a young age to not worrying about what others think. “If I valued what other people thought of me as much as they might think I do,” he said, “I definitely wouldn’t be able to do this work.”

Zac Efron References His Real-life Incident in Netflix Film

Image credits: Netflix

In his newest Netflix film, A Family Affair, Efron indirectly addressed the media buzz surrounding his enlarged face.

Interestingly, both Zac and his character, Chris, underwent jaw surgery, resulting in noticeable changes to their faces. In a scene from the romantic comedy released on June 28, Chris confides in his love interest, Brooke (Nicole Kidman), about the ongoing rumors regarding cosmetic surgery he supposedly had on his face.

Chris then denies having surgery on his quads. However, he admits to undergoing only one surgery on his face following an accident. “I did have surgery, though,” Chris says to Brooke. The scene features him pointing to a scar located at the bottom of his jaw, and then he adds, “I fell on set, some broken glass.”

Once again, the internet came alive with chitter-chatter about the actor’s jaws following the release of A Family Affair. “Zac Efron in ‘A Family Affair’ makes me so sad for him,” @r/netflix posted on Reddit.

“He just looks so different. Clearly he had work done despite saying he ‘had an accident and had to have surgery’ on that new jaw of his. His face alone so obviously looks like it had work done.”

The Redditor went on to argue that the state Efron has reached is “so sad” and that he “didn’t need any of it [surgery],” adding, “He would have aged like fine wine if he kept everything natural. Just proves truly the most beautiful are also the most insecure.”

Efron’s larger face invited further ridicule from dismayed fans. “He looks like a caricature of his old self. It’s sad and absurd looking,” @DragonReborn30 remarked.

Another user (@Extension_Branch_371) expressed sympathy for the famous actor, writing, “I feel sad for him also, but I’m sad because I’m sure the speculation has to get to him. Imagine being so in the public eye and knowing that every time you show your face, people will be discussing your appearance.”

Others did not even believe that Efron’s jaw looked different because he had taken a nasty fall in the past. “I wish people were just HONEST,” @freezingkiss expressed. “Stop making excuses. Say, ‘I wanted a more masculine look and I got surgery’ – JUST BE HONEST. Everyone and their dog in Hollywood has had work done. No he didn’t ‘just age’ or ‘have a bad bee sting’ or ‘get corrective surgery for a jaw accident from a few years beforehand’. He got implants.”

Backlash aside, some fans still believed that the actor’s jaw size was solely the result of his past mishap, believing that people should be more gentle and kind to Efron.

“Bro he slipped and had the corner of his counter go through the bottom of his mouth. He legit passed out and was left like that for hours. His jaw had to be wired shut for months. He literally had no control on the work that had to be done. This post just makes you look like an a-hole,” @AcadecCoach commented.

Though the actor landed in hot water after starring in A Family Affair, Dr. Youn came to his defense in 2022. In a brief TikTok clip, Young admitted that he had never seen a case like Efron’s during his career, but this does not mean that he lied to fans about his shattered jaw.

The plastic surgeon compared a photo of the actor from 2019 to a photo of him in 2021 and noticed that his lips look a “little bit buffier.” But again, he believed that Efron was honest about his jaw accident.

“I think we should always give celebrities the benefit of the doubt when they talk about their medical history,” he said, writing on his video, “I believe him… do YOU?”.

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