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'Riverdale' alum KJ Apa name-drops co-star that punched him in the face at strip club

A man in a green T-shirt with the text
A man in a green T-shirt with the text "Mercy Safari" smiles and reclines in a chair.

The 29-year-old actor called the hit a "wake-up" call, explaining that his all his pals were "worried" because he was "doing drugs" at the time.

KJ Apa put his “Riverdale” co-star Cole Sprouse on blast for once punching him in the face in a new interview.

Speaking on Tuesday’s “Wildmen” podcast episode, the actor explained that incident, which happened at a strip club, was meant to be a “wake-up” call.

“At this time, I was doing a lot of drugs and a lot of my close friends were worried about me,” the 29-year-old told Cole’s twin brother, Dylan Sprouse, and his co-host Brendan Columbus.

“And he had learned that I was doing drugs again.”

A man in a green T-shirt with the text
KJ Apa got punched in the face by a “Riverdale” co-star, he revealed Monday.
KJ Apa and Cole Sprouse in a boxing ring.
Cole Sprouse hit the actor at a strip club, Apa shared on the “Wildmen” podcast. ©CW Network/Courtesy Everett Collection

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The “Map That Leads to You” star ultimately dubbed the strike a “love punch.”

Dylan, who witnessed the jab, went on to chide Apa for running away from Cole “like an ostrich.”

The “Suite Life of Zack and Cody” alum, 33, remembered, “I looked at my brother after that, and I was like, ‘Dude, you could have just died.’”

KJ Apa sitting on a dark blue chair while being interviewed on the Wildmen podcast.
Apa called it a “love punch” since his friends were “worried” about him “doing drugs.” Wildmen Podcast
KJ Apa and Cole Sprouse as Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones in Riverdale.
It was a “wake-up” call, he explained. ©CW Network/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection

Dylan noted that he “made the mistake of trying to chase after” Apa, who was “three blocks away by the time [he] was just, like, getting [his] bearings.”

The former Disney Channel star called Apa instead, quipping, “You might still have the voicemail.”

Dylan felt the interaction highlighted Apa and Cole’s “beautiful” bond while respectively playing Archie Andrews and Jughead on the CW show, which ran from 2017 to 2023.

Cole Sprouse and K.J. Apa at Entertainment Weekly's Comic-Con party.
At the time, Apa (pictured above in July 2017) ran away “like an ostrich,” according to podcast co-host Dylan Sprouse. Dia Dipasupil
KJ Apa wearing two gold medals over a light blue shirt.
Elsewhere in the episode, Apa (pictured above in July 2025) talked about his addiction struggles and past eating disorder. Getty Images for Angel City Sports

It made Dylan feel “safe” to know his sibling was filming in Canada with “someone who’s … of a similar mentality to him, [a] similar kind of person.’”

Cole’s rep did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.

Elsewhere in the sitdown, Apa opened up about his struggles with addiction and a “gnarly” eating disorder.

“I used to eat donuts all day long. Go back to my trailer, throw up,” he said before describing one experience where he binged fast food — and then took it outside and peed on it to stop himself.

KJ Apa at the 39th Annual PaleyFest LA -
The “Map That Leads to You” star (pictured above in April 2022) told listeners about binging and purging while filming the CW show in Canada. Getty Images
From left, KJ Apa, Camila Mendes, Cole Sprouse, and Lili Reinhart looking out over a river in a scene from
He credited his “unhealthy” habits with the “environment” of the show, from “having [his] shirt off all the time” to “experiencing fame.” ©CW Network/Courtesy Everett Collection

Apa later got “hungry again” after purging and “ate around the piss.”

He added, “I had so many things that I was doing that were so unhealthy that kind of bred throughout that show, maybe because of … the environment, having my shirt off all the time. Even just experiencing fame.”

Apa went public with his sobriety last year, crediting his change with son Sasha’s birth.

If you or someone you care about is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). 

KJ Apa and Cole Sprouse in a boxing ring.
KJ Apa and Cole Sprouse in a boxing ring.
KJ Apa sitting on a dark blue chair while being interviewed on the Wildmen podcast.
KJ Apa sitting on a dark blue chair while being interviewed on the Wildmen podcast.
KJ Apa and Cole Sprouse as Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones in Riverdale.
KJ Apa and Cole Sprouse as Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones in Riverdale.
Cole Sprouse and K.J. Apa at Entertainment Weekly's Comic-Con party.
Cole Sprouse and K.J. Apa at Entertainment Weekly's Comic-Con party.
KJ Apa wearing two gold medals over a light blue shirt.
KJ Apa wearing two gold medals over a light blue shirt.
KJ Apa at the 39th Annual PaleyFest LA -
KJ Apa at the 39th Annual PaleyFest LA - "Riverdale" event.
From left, KJ Apa, Camila Mendes, Cole Sprouse, and Lili Reinhart looking out over a river in a scene from
From left, KJ Apa, Camila Mendes, Cole Sprouse, and Lili Reinhart looking out over a river in a scene from "Riverdale."
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