Zac Efron wore his hair in braids to go fishing on the L.A. River, and we have a lot of questions

By Alyssa morin

August 2, 2018

By Alyssa morin

August 2, 2018

In WTF news, Zac Efron has braids, or at least what appear to be braids. Why is this crazy? Keep on reading.

The actor posted a picture of himself on Twitter with the questionable hairstyle, but what’s even more strange is the fact that he rocked knotted braids while fishing on the L.A. River. It’s a head-scratcher.

In fact, his hairdo and new lifestyle are giving us major Matthew McConaughey-at-Burning-Man vibes. Not only is Zac’s hairstyle reminiscent of the Texas native in the film Mud, but we’re getting flashbacks to that time in 2016 when Matthew played the bongo drums naked. Could a new hippie lifestyle be in Zac’s near future? Judging by the hair, it seems like it very well could be. And if that means he’s playing the drums naked, then we hope so. Sorry, not sorry.

But Matthew or Burning Man vibes aside, we can’t leave out the fact that Zac received backlash in July 2018 for having dreadlocks, which he wrote in an Instagram post was “just for fun.” Fans called him out on his problematic hairstyle (and rightfully so), calling it cultural appropriation. In recent years, it seems like more white boys are rocking dreadlocks, and this isn’t a trend we advocate for. Not too long ago Justin Bieber had the hairstyle, but we digress.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Zac Efron (@zacefron)

What we know so far is that Zac Efron has changed up his hair once more, and we have so many questions.

Are these braids?

Beautiful LA Carp #LAriver pic.twitter.com/BcuSWCQjv5

— Zac Efron (@ZacEfron) August 1, 2018

While we can’t really call them braids by a hairstylist’s definition (we’re sure they’re shuddering), they do look like twisted braids or knots. We can see that Zac’s hair is still dreaded in the back, too.

Let’s zoom on in.

We’re just going to put this out there, in case Zac is reading, but can he please bring back his suave hairstyle from the Baywatch movie? We’ll even accept his side-swept hair from his High School Musical days.

Is the 30-year-old actor styling his hair like this for a role?

Beautiful LA Carp #LAriver pic.twitter.com/BcuSWCQjv5

— Zac Efron (@ZacEfron) August 1, 2018

Not likely.

We know the actor filmed The Beach Bum, which, according to IMDb, is now in post-production. Not surprisingly, the movie was directed by Harmony Korine, so you know it’s going to be crazy. Korine is the director behind Spring Breakers, which starred James Franco in dreadlocks. Our theory? Either Zac’s hair was styled like that for his role and he’s grown to love the ‘do, OR he could be going through an experimental phase.

Another interesting factor of Zac’s mysterious hairstyle: The Beach Bum also stars Matthew McConaughey and Isla Fisher. And as we’ve mentioned before, Zac is giving us major Matthew McConaughey vibes. Perhaps his costar is rubbing off on him.

But more importantly, why is Zac fishing on the L.A. River?

Beautiful LA Carp #LAriver pic.twitter.com/BcuSWCQjv5

— Zac Efron (@ZacEfron) August 1, 2018

This is Los Angeles, which is a beautiful city, but one filled with pollution. Before 2013, people couldn’t even legally fish, kayak, or birdwatch (!) in the river, according to KCET.org.

Of course, all those activities are legal now, except for swimming. No one can swim in the river, but who would want to? However, Zac fishing on the L.A. River is weird, especially when the Pacific Ocean is just miles away. At least he caught a fish, which he seemed to be proud of. He wrote on his Twitter post, “Beautiful LA carp.”