Zac Efron went from being a teen idol to an out of control partier, but eventually sobered
up and made a legitimate effort to reinvent himself after several years of public scandals.
Here's a look at some of the shadier moments you may not remember from the hunky actor's
checkered past.
In 2013, sources confirmed to E! News that Efron had completed a stint in rehab. The
source alluded to an alcohol problem, saying,
"He's healthy, happy and not drinking."
But rumors that he also had cocaine problems had been swirling for years. Later, during
an appearance on Running Wild with Bear Grylls, Efron confessed to needing, in his words,
"a social lubricant" just to leave the house in order to deal with the relentless pressure
of media scrutiny. Eventually, Efron admitted to The Hollywood Reporter that he had abused
drugs, saying,
"It's never one specific thing. I mean, you're in your 20s, single, going through life in
Hollywood, you know? Everything is thrown at you. I wouldn't take anything back; I needed
to learn everything I did. But it was an interesting journey, to say the least."
The ripped star even got somewhat philosophical, saying,
"It's impossible to lead an honest and fulfilling life as a man and not make mistakes and fess
up to them when you need to."
At the time of that interview, Efron was attending AA meetings and living a completely clean
lifestyle, although he acknowledges that this will be, quote, "a never-ending struggle."
"I hope, I aspire to have it be easy one day."
"And forgive yourself when you make mistakes."
"Exactly, that's a really big one."
Probably the craziest story to come out of Efron's party days was the time he ended up
in a fight with a bunch of homeless guys in Los Angeles' Skid Row. The story varied greatly
before Efron finally broke his silence and shared his version of events with The Hollywood
Reporter.
He claimed that he and a friend were looking for a place to eat and they ran out of gas
in the neighborhood. While they waited for an Uber, a homeless man tapped on the window,
and his friend jumped out of the car. A fight ensued, and Efron claims he thought he saw
the homeless guy ready to attack his friend with a knife, so he jumped out of the car
to help, but by that time, the cops were already there.
TMZ, who claimed to have spoken with police who were on patrol in the area of the incident,
reported that Efron was actually with his bodyguard, and they threw a bottle at a group
of homeless people while they waited for a tow truck. According to the tab, the fight
involved Efron, the bodyguard, and "at least three other people", and Efron took a punch
to the face.
In the summer of 2014, Efron had a brief romance with actress Michelle Rodriguez, which started
with a PDA-soaked 4th of July in Italy. From there, Efron and Rodriguez toured Europe all
summer and ended the season with a bang in Spain, where, according to TMZ, Efron fell
off the wagon hard.
Though the pair were spotted on yachts and in clubs throughout their baller romance,
Efron seemed to be keeping himself clean until someone snapped a pic of him holding what
looked like a beer bottle in a nightclub. Sources told the Daily Mail that it was around
this time that the pair had a falling out and went their separate ways. TMZ also reported
that people around Efron said he was never really 100 percent sober. They explained,
"He'll stop cold for 3 or 4 days when he has to work and then he's back."
While he's worked hard to break free from Hollywood typecasting with roles in films
like The Paperboy and Parkland, it's always going to be hard for Efron to not be considered
an uber bro just based on his appearance alone. So, the guy's going to get a lot of hate whether
it's warranted or not. But there was one day in 2016 when even the fiercest Efron defenders
probably couldn't help but roll their eyes, and that day was Martin Luther King Jr. Day,
a time when the nation pauses to remember the civil rights hero. According to Cosmopolitan,
Efron's tribute tweet to Dr. King said,
"I'm grateful for a couple of things today: Martin Luther King Jr & 10 million followers
on [Instagram]."
Efron seemingly equated his support for civil rights with excitement over people clicking
a button on social media, so yeah, it sounds pretty bad. Of course, the Twittersphere was
not having it, and Efron quickly deleted the original tweet and apologized with another,
saying,
"I have nothing but the greatest admiration [and] respect for MLK. My last post was insensitive
[and] I apologize to anyone who I offended. So sorry."
When it comes to shedding his "dude-bro" image, Efron didn't exactly do himself any favors
that time he showed up to a premiere of a kid's movie and let a condom fall out of his
pocket right on the red carpet. In an interview on the Today show, Efron and Matt Lauer had
a good laugh over the whole incident. Efron said,
"I never really had a pocket-checking policy prior to going on the red carpet before, but
now we fully instated one."
When Lauer told him it was, quote, "better to be safe than sorry," Efron joked,
"That's a great message to add to the many messages of the film."
Apparently Efron seemed positive his role in a Dr. Seuss movie was going to land him
a hookup that night, so just imagine what kind of stash he brought to the Baywatch premiere.
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