Dylan Efron Says Brother Zac Efron Had “Defensive” Reaction to Viral DWTS Moment

Dylan Efron gave some insight into brother Zac Efron's thoughts after his reaction to Dylan's Dancing With the Stars semifinals score went viral.

By Gibson Johns Dec 10, 2025 1:32 PM
| Updated Dec 10, 2025 7:24 PM
Tags
Watch: Dylan Efron Details Brother Zac Efron's “Defensive” Reaction to Viral DWTS Moment

Dylan Efron is clearing up that awkward moment.

The Traitors alum gave some insight into brother Zac Efron's thoughts after his reaction to Dylan's Dancing With the Stars score went viral, sharing that his older brother got "defensive" over it.

"I actually did speak to Zac about this because I was just saying it as I thought it was funny," Dylan shared on Sirius XM's Radio Andy show Smith Sisters Live upcoming Dec. 16 episode. "But then Zac was like, ‘Oh no.’ He’s like, ‘They’re misinterpreting it.’"

The moment in question came after Dylan and partner Daniella Karagach scored a 27 out of 30 for one of their semifinal dances and the cameras cut to Zac asking, "Is that a good score?" which some interpreted as him saying, "Is that their high score?"

"I can’t remember what he was saying, but I think he said that he thought it was a really good dance,” Dylan recalled. "So he is like, ‘Is that the highest score they would give?’"

He went on, "So I think he was more like, 'That should've been higher,' or something like that."

read
Dylan Efron Reacts to Brother Zac Efron's Appearance at DWTS Semifinals

And, as Dylan shared, the confusion on the internet over what Zac really said left the High School Musical actor frustrated.

"But it was funny regardless because Zac got defensive," he explained, "He was like, 'No, they misinterpreted what I meant!'"

Instagram / Zac Efron

Zac's Nov. 18 appearance in the ballroom followed weeks of curiosity from fans as to why he hadn't appeared yet in person to support Dylan, but his younger brother wasn't bothered.

"Hey, he’s doing his thing," Dylan told Extra after the Oct. 21 episode, adding that Zac had been "supporting me every day" in private.

In fact, he had even paid tribute to Zac the previous week by dancing to "Rewrite The Stars," his duet with Zendaya from The Greatest Showman.

"Now, being able to dance to ‘Rewrite the Stars,’ this is a nod to my brother,” Dylan said during the Oct. 14 episode. "Zac’s always taken care of me and he did things that were so selfless. I wanna be that to [our sister] Olivia, I wanna be the best role model I can." 

Keep reading for more about season 34 of DWTS...

Baron Davis

Partnered with Britt Stewart

Jennifer Affleck 

Partnered with Jan Ravnik

Alix Earle 

Partnered with Valentin Chmerkovski

Dylan Efron

Partnered with Daniella Karagach 

Corey Feldman

Partnered with Jenna Johnson

Elaine Hendrix 

Partnered with Alan Bersten

Robert Irwin 

Partnered with Witney Carson

Jordan Chiles 

Partnered with Ezra Sosa

Scott Hoying 

Partnered with Rylee Arnold

Whitney Leavitt

Partnered with Mark Ballas

Hilaria Baldwin

Partnered with Gleb Savchenko 

Andy Richter

Partnered with Emma Slater

Danielle Fishel

Partnered with Pasha Pashkov 

Latest News