diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index 5a5238ffa5b..466483e7c89 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ Please view this file on the master branch, on stable branches it's out of date.
 v 7.12.0 (unreleased)
   - Refactor permission checks with issues and merge requests project settings (Stan Hu)
   - Fix Markdown preview not working in Edit Milestone page (Stan Hu)
+  - Fix Zen Mode not closing with ESC key (Stan Hu)
   - Add web hook support for note events (Stan Hu)
   - Disable "New Issue" and "New Merge Request" buttons when features are disabled in project settings (Stan Hu)
   - Remove Rack Attack monkey patches and bump to version 4.3.0 (Stan Hu)
diff --git a/app/assets/javascripts/zen_mode.js.coffee b/app/assets/javascripts/zen_mode.js.coffee
index 26efc374f7f..dc6a84c6c52 100644
--- a/app/assets/javascripts/zen_mode.js.coffee
+++ b/app/assets/javascripts/zen_mode.js.coffee
@@ -10,11 +10,11 @@ class @ZenMode
 
     $('body').on 'click', '.zen-enter-link', (e) =>
       e.preventDefault()
-      $(e.currentTarget).closest('.zennable').find('.zen-toggle-comment').prop('checked', true)
+      $(e.currentTarget).closest('.zennable').find('.zen-toggle-comment').prop('checked', true).change()
 
     $('body').on 'click', '.zen-leave-link', (e) =>
       e.preventDefault()
-      $(e.currentTarget).closest('.zennable').find('.zen-toggle-comment').prop('checked', false)
+      $(e.currentTarget).closest('.zennable').find('.zen-toggle-comment').prop('checked', false).change()
 
     $('body').on 'change', '.zen-toggle-comment', (e) =>
       checkbox = e.currentTarget