Tom Welling meant to share a view of the New York City skyline, but accidentally exposed more than he intended.
After screenshots of his now-viral reflection spread online, the Smallville star responded to the social media frenzy with humor.
Poking fun at the mishap, Welling’s former co-star and longtime friend Michael Rosenbaum also shared a hilarious parody online.
One person quipped, “What the heck is going on with him? His comment is sending me!”
Smallville star Tom Welling joked about his accidental n*de reflection in replies to social media posts
Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images
Welling, 49, shared a photo of the New York City skyline on Instagram Stories on Friday, October 9, ahead of New York Comic Con.
He captioned the image “Hello NYCC,” but eagle-eyed viewers quickly noticed it appeared to show his unclothed reflection in the hotel window as he took the photo.
The Story reportedly remained online for around 10 hours before being deleted, but hundreds of screenshots had already spread across social media.
Rather than stay silent, Tom engaged with multiple posts about the mishap.
Under a viral video by actor Trevor Larcom poking fun at the situation, he commented, “Came for the sights.”
He also responded to coverage from various publications, dropping laughing emojis and writing, “Skyline or ?” beneath one viral post.
HELLO! magazine also shared its coverage on Instagram titled Tom Welling Has the Best Response to Accidentally Sharing N*ked Photo on Instagram — See His New Post.
Welling’s longtime friend and co-star Michael Rosenbaum shared a hilarious parody photo to support him
The actor replied with another cheeky comment to the publication: “Not intentional, but still reflecting on it.”
When another viewer pointed out how difficult his reflection was to see, Welling joked, “They need to clean those windows.”
Social media users had mixed reactions to Tom’s accidental overshare, with many amused by his willingness to joke about it.
“The fact this is doing good pr to him and he knows. He’s leaning into it, and it’s genius,” one commenter wrote.
“He’s so nonchalant about it!” another remarked.
“Bro thought he was posting the NYC skyline, not himself,” a third user joked.
While another quipped, “Tom Welling’s commitment to privacy is… impressive.”
Some, however, felt sympathy for the actor, noting that he had apparently intended only to share the city view with fans ahead of Comic Con.
Some fans laughed at the mishap, while others felt embarrassed for Welling
One such comment read, “I think this was a very awkward moment for Tom Welling. He only wanted to share the city view and say hello to Comic Con fans.”
“But the window glass showed him with no clothes on by accident. Leaving it up for so many hours made the mistake bigger. I feel sorry for him.”
Amid the online chatter, Welling’s Smallville co-star Michael Rosenbaum, who played Lex Luthor, joined the conversation in his own way to support his friend.
On Sunday, October 11, Rosenbaum posted a parody of the incident on his Instagram Stories.
Posing in front of a hotel window in a T-shirt and boxers, he held a handwritten sign reading “PERVERTS” over his privates.
“Just looking after my boy @tomwelling @newyorkcomiccon,” he captioned the photo.
Tom appreciated the gesture and reposted the image to his own Instagram Stories, adding Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ Empire State of Mind as the soundtrack.
The 49-year-old star shared an old n*de-photo story during the Smallville reunion panel, hours after his Instagram mishap
The viral incident coincided with Welling’s appearance at New York Comic Con for a panel celebrating 25 years of Smallville, which premiered in October 2001.
During the reunion, Welling joined Rosenbaum, Kristin Kreuk, and Erica Durance to reminisce about the show.
He did not explicitly address the hotel-window mishap, but he told a story about another awkward n*de-photo encounter from his time filming the series.
@ifw.al3x repost #tomwelling #smallville #giftok #tomwellingsuperman #superman ♬ perc a trick – Aclo
Tom recalled that John Glover, who played Lionel Luthor, once brought him a fan-made unclothed image of himself and asked, “Is this really you?”
Welling said he played along, replying, “Yep,” before signing the image for his co-star.
As of this writing, Welling has not issued a formal statement about the incident but continues to respond to fans with humor on social media.
“What type of fr**ky people stand by the window like that?” one fan jokingly asked
