KJ Apa Gets Real About Addiction

KJ Apa is opening up about his addiction and disordered eating while working on Riverdale, including a ‘gnarly’ story about a McDonald’s order and getting punched in the face by his costar Cole Sprouse.

The actor/man who may or may not be moonlighting as a singer called Mr. Fantasy confirmed that while he is sober now, his time on Riverdale was spent grappling with addiction and disordered eating: “Anything that makes me feel good, yeah, I will abuse. It’s something that I’ve learned about myself,” he said on the Wildmen podcast.

He then goes on to tell a story he himself describes as “gnarly” about ordering McDonald’s one night while in quarantine:

“I ordered all of this McDonald’s. I ordered like three Big Macs, a bunch of McNuggets and stuff, fries, a milkshake, and I ordered it. It’s like 2:00 a.m. I’m about to beast mode this thing. I slam like half of it, and immediately it’s like… (sighs) the regret just hits in. Why did I do that?

I piss on the rest of the food…I took it outside. I pissed all over it. I go throw up all the food that I ate. I’m not done.

I go back outside about 20 minutes later after lying there in bed being like, I’m hungry again, because all the food is now out of my body. And when you do that, you get hungry again really quickly. I went downstairs. I go outside. It’s there, right? And I start eating around the piss. I ate the rest of the food and left the soaking piss food there. I could have just ordered more food. You know what I mean? I needed to have it right now.”

Though he can tell the story now with a sense of humor, Apa says it’s a perfect example of the “dark quality” that comes with addiction, and something he’s learned to recognize. “I’ve identified it. I know what it is, and now I know how to talk to it,” he said. He also tells a story of another wake-up call or “wake-up punch,” as he puts it, when Sprouse punched him in the face at a club after learning that he had relapsed. 

i understand why people find this revolting but the reality is eating disorders make you do revolting things and it’s nice to hear a man talk openly about having one https://t.co/oJQN7o9YS8

— matt bernstein (@mattxiv) July 23, 2026

Major props to him for speaking so openly about his addiction and sobriety. That said, I still have several questions about whatever the hell is going on with Mr. Fantasy.

---

• Music, Fashion, Film by Charli XCX is out! [Billboard]
• Divorce watch: Margaret Qualley and Jack Antonoff “have no plans to reconcile.” [Page Six]
• “I didn’t pass the bar…I raised it.” –Kimberly Noel Kardashian [Instagram]
• Kylie Kelce has nothing to tell us about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding. [People]
• A Destiny’s Child remix album is on its way. [Entertainment Weekly]