The Backlash Against Zac Efron Is Completely Wrong

The 'A Family Affair' actor has faced facial plastic surgery speculation for years.

By Anna Rumer

The rumors surrounding Zac Efron's recent facial changes have roots in the actor's near-death accident. The A Family Affair actor previously revealed he nearly died in an accident that shattered his jaw as he opened up about the plastic surgery rumors that have followed him for years. 

In a 2022 interview with Entertainment Tonight at the Toronto International Film Festival, Efron called the speculation surrounding his facial transformation "funny," saying at the time that he learned about the backlash from his mother. "I never really read the internet, so, I don't really care," he said. Instead, the change in the High School Musical star's appearance is attributed to a 2013 accident in which Efron said he shattered his jaw and had to have his mouth wired shut after he slipped in a puddle of water near the entrance of his home. 

Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix's "A Family Affair"
(Photo: Emma McIntyre / Getty Images)

He also sustained a gash in the fall that required stitches, and Efron said that the incident almost killed him. "It was funny," he admitted. "It sucks. I almost died, but we're good."  

Also in 2022, Efron opened up more about the injury's impact on his face to Men's Health, explaining that while the masseter muscles alongside the face should operate "like a symphony" with the rest of the facial muscles, his injury changed that. "The masseters just grew," Efron said of the aftermath. "They just got really, really big."

Despite rumors that the Disney Channel alum went under the knife for plastic surgery, Efron said he tries to stay away from social media. "If I valued what other people thought of me to the extent that they may think I do. I definitely wouldn't be able to do this work," he said. 

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Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix's "A Family Affair"
(Photo: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

The actor has had some pretty intense physical transformations for past roles. Preparing his cut physique in the 2017 film Baywatch involved taking diuretics, overtraining, and not sleeping enough, Efron admitted, calling the shredded results not "attainable" and revealing that it led to a "pretty bad depression."

"I started to develop insomnia and I fell into a pretty bad depression, for a long time. Something about that experience burned me out," Efron told the outlet. "I had a really hard time recentering. Ultimately they chalked it up to taking way too many diuretics for way too long, and it messed something up."

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