The viral photo of Joe Burrow with long, Anakin Skywalker-like hair is probably fake

That Joe Burrow photo with Anakin Skywalker hair is probably fake.

The Force is not very strong with a viral photo going around of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow with Anakin Skywalker-approved long hair.

The photo in question shows Burrow in his Bengals uniform with unusually long, curly hair that makes him look like Hayden Christensen as Anakin from Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.

Does Burrow actually look like the former Jedi-turned-Sith Lord? Your hopes up, don’t get.

The photo immediately sparked as many great Star Wars jokes as you could possibly hope for, but the new hairdo is most likely a Photoshop and not how Burrow actually looks right now.

The Bengals’ team website shared photos of Burrow’s latest haircut as recently as May 16, which is nowhere near as long as the photo going viral. Here’s a screenshot of one of those snapshots.

Screenshot: Bengals website

Also, a video from Thursday shows Burrow wearing a hat and coaching up rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton. His hair does not look nearly that long under the cap he’s got on.

This video from earlier this month also provides great context into how Burrow’s hair would not have grown to that length in less than a month compared to where it was on May 6, when it was cut pretty normally.

As much as we wish that hairdo was real, the best chance is that it’s just a fun Photoshop of what may be one day if Burrow keeps growing it out.

At the least, maybe the Bengals quarterback has some inspiration for a Halloween costume?

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