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Contrary to popular belief, Charlie Puth’s distinctive right-hand eyebrow split is not an intentional fashion choice.
While the “Attention” pop star’s trademark look might seem like a deliberate slit in his eyebrow — a popular trend in the 1980s and again in the 2010s — he has made it clear that it is actually a scar from a near-fatal dog attack.
Puth, 34, who is preparing to perform the national anthem at the 2026 Super Bowl on Sunday, first discussed the traumatic childhood incident in a 2017 YouTube video for the Johnjay and Rich Show.
“People think this part of my eyebrow is shaved,” he said, pointing to the bare patch of skin. “It was actually a black lab that bit my face. I almost died!”
He assured the hosts that the attack didn’t leave him with a lasting fear of dogs, but acknowledged that the incident was “pretty scary. It was not good.”
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Charlie Puth will perform the National Anthem at Sunday’s 2026 Super Bowl (Getty)
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Puth spoke Thursday at Apple Music’s Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Press Conference ahead of the big game (Apple Music/YouTube)
“I just pulled the dog’s tail; it was an abused dog,” Puth explained, sharing that he now warns children from getting into dogs’ faces. “Don’t do it. They are still animals.”
He revealed that he was taken to the hospital, where he ultimately required plastic surgery that involved him receiving 450 stitches. Despite being only two years old at the time and having no direct recollection of the attack, he said he remembers going to court.
“It got crazy,” the “We Don’t Talk Anymore” singer said. “I think the [owners] had to put the dog down. It was really messy. But, luckily, everything worked out, and now I have this cool little thing on my eyebrow.”
He later shared the same story during a 2024 appearance on CBS Mornings.
When host Gayle King suggested that the scar likely bothered him growing up but not so much now, Puth concurred. “I feel pretty cool,” he said, quipping: “I just lie and say that I got into a big fight.”
Puth, a four-time Grammy-nominated artist, will perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” ahead of Sunday’s NFL championship game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.
Speaking Thursday at Apple Music’s Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Press Conference, he shared how he plans to make the song his own.
“The arrangement is everything for me,” Puth said. “I always reverse engineer how I hear my own music in my own head.”
He added that he hopes audiences “feel inspired” by his performance. “I want everybody to know that music is such an amazing thing and can change so many people’s lives,” he said. “Everybody loves music. I’ve never met anybody who doesn’t love music. I just think it can color every aspect of your day so vividly.”
