Tom Welling laughs off viral naked photo accidentally shared on Instagram

The Smallville actor shared a photo of the New York City skyline, which accidentally featured his nude image in the reflection

Tom Welling arrives to The Hollywood Reporter's Nominees Night held at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2026© Getty Images
Beatriz Colon
Beatriz ColonNew York WriterNew York
52 minutes ago
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Tom Welling is laughing off his recent social media blunder.

Over the weekend, eagle-eyed fans noticed that the Smallville alum's seemingly innocuous picture of the New York City skyline was much more than what it appeared to be.

The Cheaper by the Dozen actor, 49, shared the photo behind a floor-to-ceiling window, and its reflection revealed he was in the nude while photographing it, accidentally exposing himself.

Tom Welling speaks at The Road to Superman: 25 Years of Smallville during New York Comic Con 2026 at Javits Center on October 10, 2026 in New York City© Getty Images
Tom speaking at NYCC on October 10

Tom kept his head up following the viral incident, making his planned appearance at New York Comic Con on Saturday, October 10 to celebrate Smallville.

After social media posts about his accidental indecent exposure circulated, Tom commented a laughing and heart emoji under one of them, laughing it off, and replied under another: "Skyline or ?" also with a laughing emoji.

Tom appeared at NYCC inside the Javits Center alongside his Smallville co-stars Erica Durance, Kristin Kreuk and Michael Rosenbaum in honor of the milestone 25th anniversary of the hit WB series, which ended after 10 seasons in 2011.

Michael Rosenbaum, Kristin Kreuk, Erica Durance, Tom Welling, and Julie Snyder speak at The Road to Superman: 25 Years of Smallville during New York Comic Con 2026 at Javits Center on October 10, 2026 in New York City© Getty Images
He appeared with his Smallville co-stars while the incidental photo was on his Instagram for 10 hours

The topic of nudes in fact did come up during the NYCC appearance, though not Tom's incidental one, which was up on his Instagram Stories for about 10 hours before it was deleted.

Speaking with his co-stars, he revealed that during Smallville's heyday, fans would actually draw NSFW portraits of him, and his co-star John Glover, who played Lex Luthor's father Lionel Luther, once asked him to sign one.

"John came into my makeup trailer one time with a big smile on his face," he recalled. "And he goes, 'I'm so happy to see you.' I was like, 'Why?' He's like, 'I have a picture I'd like you to sign.' And it was a picture from the internet that somebody had made of me completely naked."

Instagram Story reposted by Tom Welling of his Smallville co-star Michael Rosenbaum making light of his accidental nude photo shared on Instagram© Instagram
He re-posted a photo posted by his co-star Michael making light of the social media blunder

"He thought it was so cute," Tom continued, adding: "He [was] like, 'Is this really you?' I'm like, 'Yep.' And I signed it for him."

Tom Welling and Jessica Rose Lee Welling attend the Chasing Summer Premiere Party hosted by Acura at Acura House of Energy on January 26, 2026 in Park City, Utah© Getty Images
With his wife Jessica in January 2026

Tom most recently starred in the comedy-drama Chasing Summer, which was written by and starred comedian Iliza Shlesinger, and also featured The Summer I Turned Pretty actress Lola Tung, plus Jeff Perry and Megan Mullally.

Tom has been in a relationship with equestrian and Saddle Club founder Jessica Rose Lee since 2014; they tied the knot in 2019, and share two sons, Thomson, born in January 2019, and Rocklin, born June 2021.

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