Actor Zac Efron poses for a photo in Marina del Rey, Calif., July 16, 2010.MARIO ANZUONI/Reuters
Did the squeaky-clean Disney star Zac Efron spend a stint in rehab earlier this year? And was it for booze or cocaine?
According to USA Today and countless online gossip outlets, the former High School Musical star quietly endured a stint in rehab several months ago but is clean and sober now.
The 25-year-old actor looked clear-eyed two weeks ago at the Toronto International Film Festival when he attended the premiere of Parkland, an upcoming feature about the 1963 JFK assassination.
"I'm good, real good," Efron told a correspondent from E! Online while walking the TIFF red carpet.
The original story, albeit from unsubstantiated sources, was that Efron had a minor drinking problem, which he beat with the assistance of a treatment program.
"He's healthy, happy and not drinking," an unnamed source told E! Online. "He's taking time to focus on working."
But now TMZ is reporting Efron had a much bigger monkey on his back: cocaine, a.k.a. The Devil's Dandruff, Peruvian Marching Powder, et al.
Citing even more of those unnamed sources, TMZ claims Efron actually completed rehab treatment for "cocaine addiction" roughly five months ago and says he may also have been taking "Molly," the street name for a pure and powerful form of ecstasy currently popular among clubgoers.
TMZ also says that Efron's alleged drug problem went off the rails while he was filming the upcoming comedy feature Neighbors, which co-stars Canadian Seth Rogen.
"Sources tell us Zac … was a no-show on a number of days," TMZ claims, citing a source connected to the movie. "It was common knowledge he was struggling with cocaine," said the nameless source.
Three additional unnamed sources told TMZ that for a brief period Efron was also mad about Molly, which made the news recently after several young people died after consuming it at a concert in New York.
From TMZ: "We're told … early this year, Zac and some friends went on a coke rager in a room at the SkyLofts at the MGM Grand in Vegas … and caused around $50,000 in damage. No word on who took care of the bill."
Besides appearing in all three instalments of the High School Musical franchise, Efron has been steadily making his name on the big screen with high-profile roles in films like 17 Again, New Year's Eve and The Lucky One.
Until now, the handsome actor has never been known to partake of the Hollywood party lifestyle, unlike his twentysomething counterparts like Lindsay Lohan and fellow Disney grad Demi Lovato.
So far, the rehab story has not been confirmed and Efron's representatives haven't been returning messages. TMZ says Efron's spokesperson declined to comment.
Besides Parkland and Neighbors, Efron will also star in the upcoming romantic comedy Are We Officially Dating?
And whether Efron is eventually proven to have been hooked on either drugs or booze, he's currently taking things one day at a time. At TIFF, a reporter asked him if he ever gets used to all the attention.
"No, you can't," he said. "It's all ridiculous." Then Efron added with a smile: "It's cool."