Truth behind Rob McElhenney’s face after New Year’s photo sparks concern

While your Instagram feed is still spammed by everyone’s 2023 round-ups and new year posts, it’s not just that girl who used to sit behind you in GCSE maths getting in on it, but celebrities too.

Except Rob McElhenney’s New Year’s Eve photo dump sparked concern among his fans.

The Wrexham FC co-owner shared various snaps from the year he called ‘one of the best’ in his life.

But McElhenney started the Instagram carousel with a photo of his mega swollen head and face that people couldn’t quite believe was real.

The 46-year-old’s caption reads: “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.”

So yep, the photo is a snap of an allergic reaction taking an absolute beating of McElhenney’s face.

Instagram/@robmcelhenney

Except, that’s not quite the full truth.

Fans of the star will be relieved to hear that it’s not actually a real allergic reaction suffered by the star.

The photo was from behind the scenes at It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which he co-created.

It was McElhenney’s iconic character Mac who had the dramatic reaction to nuts. Take a look here:

The actor had to don prosthetics for an episode in season 16, where he suffered from a severe peanut allergy but couldn't stop chomping on his value size tub of 'Extra Fancy Nuts'.

Despite his lips becoming incredibly swollen and struggling to breathe, he continues to eat his snack and insists he must of had a reaction to blowing up inflatable furniture.

By the end of the episode, his entire face has blown up - but he wants to go to Costco rather than the hospital to, you guessed it, get more nuts.

FXP

But those who weren’t so familiar with the sitcom episode commented in panic: "Holy f**k. I feel like with that reaction to nuts you probably had to be close to actually dying."

Another wrote: "That’s not real… is it? Our faces can do that???"

A third joked: "I thought there was a Goonies remake coming out!! Heyyy youuuu guyyyss!!"

So, panic over guys, it was just a prank - and McElhenney didn't really start 2024 off looking like Sloth from The Goonies.

Topics: Rob McElhenney, Celebrity, Viral, Instagram

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_