Photo Credit: AZ Central
Dave Franco is setting the record straight—just in time for a trending moment. During a revealing appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Franco addressed the wildest rumor ever about him and shared the truth behind Zac Efron’s notorious set injury from their 2014 comedy Neighbors.
A Rumor That Refuses to Die
Franco laughed off one particularly bizarre tabloid claim: that he and Zac Efron were dating. The rumor stemmed from a Photoshop-edited image shared online showing the two actors looking intimate courtside. What shocked him most was that one of his own ex-girlfriends actually called to ask: “What’s going on here?” Franco joked: “This girl that I was kinda seeing … reached out and was like ‘what’s this all about?’” The entire story, as he explained, was completely made up and based on manipulated visuals.
The Injury Behind the Laughs
The more serious—and cringe-inducing—part of Franco’s podcast chat involved confirming how Zac Efron injured his hand during a gross-out comedy scene in Neighbors. Breaking his silence, Franco explained that the infamous stunt was not due to arousal—it was a dislocated thumb from a poorly angled crotch grab. “He came in just really strong,” Franco recalled. “I think it was a dislocated thumb, to be fair, but it happened.”
Efron previously joked on The Tonight Show that he broke his hand due to Franco’s “balls of steel.” But Franco finally clarified the real context: both actors wore protective cups and, in the double-grip stand-off, Efron’s thumb took the brunt of the force. Franco’s character even uses a comedic “Zen trick” in the film to win the showdown—forcing release, at the cost of Efron’s injury.
Reddit Reacts: It’s Gutsy, It’s Gross, It’s Viral
Unsuspecting fans on Reddit quickly seized on Franco’s revelations. Comments ranged from amused disbelief to praise for his candor. On r/popculturechat, one user quipped:
“He finally cleared it up: it wasn’t just a sexual innuendo gone wrong—it was a legitimately brutal stunt gone sideways.”
Others appreciated his humor in sharing the behind-the-scenes truth without hype.
A New Spotlight for Franco
The timing couldn’t be better: Franco’s horror film Together, co‑starring his wife Alison Brie, debuts July 31, 2025. As the film premieres, Franco is reminding audiences why he’s a standout comedian-turned-director. His lighthearted—but transparent—podcast appearance is another example of his evolving storytelling. With Neighbors still streaming on Netflix, old fans are rewatching and placing that crotch-grab scene in a whole new light.
Bottom Line
Dave Franco dropped two major revelations: disproving celebrity dating rumors and recounting the real cause behind Zac Efron’s infamous injury. At once shocking and amusing, the story revives interest in a decade-old comedy and casts Franco as a candid storyteller unafraid to go there.