Furious fans defend 2000s icon as he’s trolled over his looks at 48

Many fans furiously defended a 2000s TV icon after he was trolled for his ‘below average’ looks at age 48.

Actor Tom Welling was the subject of online debate after a post about his appearance went viral on X, formerly Twitter, in late December. 

In the post, an anonymous 4Chan user shared a photo of the TV star in his early 20s versus him now in his 40s as they discussed how his appearance has changed.

Many of Welling’s fans claimed that it was unfair to use unflattering photos in the comparison and slammed the troll for calling him ‘below average.’ 

Social media users criticized the comparison between a professional photo from his Smallville days and a low-quality snapshot in poor lighting.

This comes nearly a year after the actor made headlines for his DUI arrest as fans condemned the usage of what some believed was his mugshot to comment on his looks. 

Welling first rose to fame after starring as Clark Kent in the superhero drama series Smallville from 2001 to 2011. 

Another one of his most well-known roles is as Lieutenant Marcus Pierce/Cain in season three of Fox’s Lucifer. 

One social media user defended Welling and tweeted that the actor is ‘still a gorgeous man’ in a response to the post. 

Another person tweeted confused question marks alongside one of Welling’s recent selfies. ‘The guy still looks amazing lmao,’ the X user wrote. 

One fan added that Welling ‘still looks good for his age’ and added, ‘Idk why they expected him to look 23 forever.’ 

‘What are you talking about?! He can still get it,’ another person tweeted in response to the original post. 

The post has gone viral with 6.4 million views at the time of reporting and received 490 replies — many of which were fans defending the star and criticizing those who claimed he ‘became below average’ after aging naturally and now looking different after two decades has passed. 

‘He’s literally so sexy,’ another fan tweeted. ‘Leave him alone fr.’ 

One X user tweeted in disbelief at the previous claims and incredulously questioned the post, writing: ‘Brother lol that’s a below average man?’ 

‘That’s just a bad photo of him from 2022,’ one fan tweeted in strong defense of Welling. 

‘He probably just put on weight and let himself go a bit through the pandemic, a lot of us did,’ the X user tweeted before sharing more recent photos of Welling in better lighting and camera angles. 

‘Bruh he is a handsome dude, what y’all on about,’ another person added in agreement. 

One fan called the post ‘nonsense’ and said they shared a ‘bad photo’ of the ‘still handsome’ actor. 

‘Below average’ and it’s the hottest picture of a man you’ve ever seen,’ an X user chimed in. 

‘He looks great for his age,’ one person tweeted. ‘This is how most 47 year old white guys age without surgical enhancements.’ 

‘Y’all are weird. Choosing a bad photo of a man nearly 50 to ‘prove he aged poorly’ is weird,’ another person tweeted as they criticized the trolls. ‘Tom Welling is still very fine.’ 

This comes just under a year after he made his first public appearance, joining a panel in front of an audience full of fans, since he was arrested in connection to driving under the influence. 

Back in February 2025, he attended MegaCon in Orlando to participate in a Superman panel alongside the many actors who have also portrayed the superhero over the years. 

In late January in 2025, Welling was arrested for a DUI in a fast food restaurant parking lot in Yreka, California shortly after midnight. 

The police reported that his blood alcohol level was measured at or above the legal limit of 0.08 percent, per TMZ. 

Welling nor his family did not immediately publicly comment on his arrest. 

The actor and his wife, equestrian Jessica Rose Lee, are parents to two sons: Thomson Wylde, seven, and Rocklin Von, four.