Rob McElhenney sparks concern with New Year’s Eve ‘allergic reaction’ pic

'This made me almost drop my phone'

McElhenney, who is best known for creating and starring in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and more recently for purchasing Wrexham AFC with Ryan Reynolds, shared an end of year post on Instagram on New Year's Eve.

The first photo on the post showed the 46-year-old with one side of his face horribly swollen, which he put down to a "slight allergic reaction."

The picture shocked many, with fellow actor Mindy Kaling commenting on the post: "Rob this made me almost drop my phone. My son screamed."

Someone else said: "I can't tell if that's legit or makeup."

A third wrote: "Can somebody confirm that the first picture is real and not from some scene he was doing. That is insane."

A fourth added: "That first slide can’t be real…is it real?? I really impressed and/or horrified."

There was an explanation behind the photo though, which It's Always Sunny fans will have picked up on.

In an episode from the most recent series of the show, Mac, who is played by McElhenney, has an allergic reaction to nuts he is eating. The reaction gets gradually severe as the episode goes on, and by the end Mac's face has become horribly deformed. The picture shared by McElhenney was simply one taken when he had the prosthetics on for filming of the scene.

Referencing the scene in the caption on the post, the actor wrote: "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."

Some of the other snaps shared by McElhenney in the post included pictures with his Wrexham co-owner Reynolds, his wife and It's Always Sunny co-star Kaitlin Olson, and one of him meeting King Charles and Camilla.

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