Rob McElhenney's New Year's Eve photo dump spooked fans as it included a picture of a completely swollen face, which was later revealed to be a prosthetic prank.
The 46-year-old actor, who co-owns the football (soccer) team Wrexham FC with Ryan Reynolds, ignited worries among fans when he shared a snap of his enormous blown-up head on December 31.
Taking to his Instagram page, Rob shared a carousel of images which included the selfie in question.
Rob’s face looked like it had doubled in size, appearing completely disfigured. However, the Lost star dismissed his distorted face and inflated shut eyes as a “slight allergic reaction”.
Rob McElhenney's New Year's photo scared fans, but it was just a storyline in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Image credits: robmcelhenney
Image credits: robmcelhenney
He wrote in the caption: “Aside from that slight allergic reaction to the nuts, 2023 was one of the best years of my life.
“Thank you to the people and places that made it possible. My life is full of love and joy because of you. So excited for 2024. I’ll stay away from the nuts.”
Rob dismissed his distorted face and inflated shut eyes as a “slight allergic reaction”
Image credits: robmcelhenney
Image credits: littleG
Fans and friends rushed to the comment section to voice their concerns and jokes upon seeing Rob’s swollen face, as actress Mindy Kaling commented: “Rob this made me almost drop my phone. My son screamed”
“The allergic reaction is not even noticeable,” a person wrote.
In season 16 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Rob’s character, Mac, suffered a striking allergic reaction to nuts
Image credits: littleG
Some people poked fun at the selfie by sharing a gif of Sloth from The Goonies, insinuating that Rob and the deformed movie character looked alike.
“That allergic reaction was real?!??” a separate individual asked, referring to an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, where Rob’s character, Mac, suffered a striking allergic reaction.
In reality, the actor's head did not double in size. For an episode in season 16 of the sitcom, Rob had to wear face prosthetics to pretend he had suffered from a severe peanut allergy but couldn't stop chomping on his value size tub of “Extra Fancy Nuts”, as per LadBible.
You can watch the sitcom's segment about Mac's allergy below:
In the episode, despite his lips becoming incredibly swollen and struggling to breathe, Mac continued to eat his snack and insisted he must have reacted to blowing up inflatable furniture.
By the end of the episode, Mac’s entire face had blown up - but he wanted to go to Costco rather than the hospital to get more nuts.
Rob also shared pictures highlighting the previous year, which included snaps of him with his wife, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-star Kaitlin Olson, a selfie with Prince Harry as well as a snap of him and Ryan chatting to King Charles and Camilla on the pitch.
Some fans wanted Rob to reassure them the allergic reaction was just "makeup"
