A 1990s television star is facing accusations over the validity of his freshly debuted six-pack abs and “jaw-dropping” physique.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar, the 52-year-old actor who played Zachary “Zack” Morris in NBC’s Saved by the Bell, caused a frenzy after he took the stage in a crop top and short shorts at The 2026 Bell Media Upfront in Toronto, Canada.
He made the appearance on Thursday to promote his upcoming Canadian comedy series Bulges, which will focus on the imaginary workers at an adults-only restaurant staffed entirely by men.
After Toronto-based social media creator Becca Rhodes posted a video on Instagram of Gosselaar jumping and blowing kisses on the stage, the clip quickly garnered more than a million views and over a thousand comments.
In the video, Gosselaar poses with visible six-pack abs.
Rhodes titled the video, “OK Zack Morris I didn’t know you still played like that.”
Mark-Paul Gosselaar appeared in a cropped top to promote his upcoming show, “Bulges.” / Becca Rhodes/Instagram
People quickly took to the comments to express their shock over Gosselaar’s physique.
“My jaw dropped,” wrote one person, while another added, “I lost count of how many times I just watched this.”
Many fans were stunned by Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s physique. / Becca Rhodes/Instagram
Many also referred to Gosselaar’s most well-known character.
“Now that’s what I call a ‘Zack Attack,’” one person wrote, referring to the name of the rock band the lead stars formed in the series.
A person named Zack commented, “Glad to see the man who I was named after is still hot.”
Mario Lopez, Dustin Diamond, and Mark-Paul Gosselaar in
Still, some commenters were confused by one detail.
“Looks like he’s wearing one of those hyper realistic muscle skins that I’ve seen some influencers use,” one person observed.
Adding, “I’ve seen some men use the ones with boobs to do drag or people use them to have fake muscles. If you look close after the white tank you can kind of see a slight greyish seam near his left side shirt armpit.”
“Saved by the Bell” stars Mario Lopez, Lark Voorhies, Tiffani Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and Dustin Diamond. / NBC
“This is a body suit, no?” asked one commenter, to which another answered, “abs are, but the legs and arms are real.”
On Reddit, people shared the same sentiment.
“What in the fake abs is going on,” wrote one person.
Another observed, “He’s flexing and relaxing at times and turning to the side, no matter how his position changes his ab muscles don’t change at all.”
Mark-Paul Gosselaar played Zachary
Some people wondered how he had achieved such realistic results, if the muscles were not real.
“They look like ab implants?” wrote one person.
Another added, “Looks like he’s got one of those awful silicone muscle suits on.”
Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s physique prompted speculation about whether his abs were real. / PopCultureChat/Reddit
But, no matter whether or not the abs were real, people were also impressed by his toned thighs and arms.
One person wrote, “How is he still ridiculously good looking?”
On Instagram, it appeared that someone close to Gosselaar addressed the legitimacy of his physique.
Speculations about Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s abs led the co-creator of his new show to chime in. / Becca Rhodes/Instagram
When one person questioned whether the actor was wearing a prosthetic silicone top, the question prompted an answer from Jonathan Popalis, the co-creator of Gosselaar’s upcoming show.
Popalis wrote, “I assure you those abs are real.”
But in an interview with Etalk, Gosselaar seemed to state the opposite. When his co-star, Shane Cunningham, pointed out that the actor is “in an 8-pack” in the show, Gosselaar replied, “It’s all prosthetics and fillers and things like that.”
