Apa called the unlikely pop star “a f---ing liar and a thief” after an outlandish music video featuring Apa’s “Riverdale” costars Lili Reinhardt and Camila Mendes.

Riverdale alum KJ Apa accuses viral TikTok star Mr. Fantasy of stealing his identity (but isn’t he Mr. Fantasy?)

Apa called the unlikely pop star "a f---ing liar and a thief" after an outlandish music video featuring Apa's "Riverdale" costars Lili Reinhardt and Camila Mendes.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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May 7, 2026 9:19 p.m. ET

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KJ Apa and Mr. Fantasy. Credit:

Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty; Gary Gershoff/Getty

- KJ Apa has issued a blistering criticism of his look-alike, the outlandish TikTok star Mr. Fantasy.

- In a dead-serious Instagram video, Apa claimed Mr. Fantasy has "completely and utterly stolen my image," calling the "Do Me Right" singer "a f---ing liar and a thief."

- Signs like matching tattoos and mutual collaborations with *Riverdale *stars like Lili Reinhardt and Camila Mendes, however, point to Apa, in fact, being Mr. Fantasy.

Will the real Mr. Fantasy please stand up?

*Riverdale** *star KJ Apa took to Instagram on Monday to share a furious video calling out the viral TikTok star for having "utterly stolen my image and misappropriated my image and my likeness."

Sure, Apa himself being behind Mr. Fantasy — indeed *being *Mr. Fantasy — has been clear since the idiosyncratic entertainer's rise to fame in 2025. But fans of the meta-saga will know by now that Apa is utterly committed to the bit and always eager to muddy the waters separating himself from his (likely) alter ego.

"There has been something going on for a long time that I haven't addressed because I didn't even think it was worth addressing," Apa began Monday's dramatic video. "But now, because of how it has impacted my life personally, I feel like I have to talk about it... because it's hurting me and my career."

Mr. Fantasy has been releasing bizarre, high-intensity videos, visuals, and songs on his YouTube and TikTok accounts for nearly a year now, with Apa denying any association all the while. But nothing has come closer to outing Apa as the oddball, Austin Powers-esque crooner than the video for his latest single, "Do Me Right," which debuted on April 30.

"There was recently a music video that was released that included a bunch of people who are really close to me by a guy who’s completely and utterly stolen my image, and misappropriated my image and my likeness, and I think we all know who we're talking about, and it's f---ed up," Apa explained. "It's f---ed up because I just lost on a huge job and can no longer go in for serious work because people think that I’m a joke because of this guy."

Apa threw up his hands: "I don't know what to do about it other than bring it here and do everything I can to protect myself, because it's completely f---ing disrespectful and completely wrong to do that." The actor insisted that he "can't just sit back and watch it happen and see my life, literally everything that I have worked hard for come to halt because of this f---ing idiot," who he proceeded to call "a f---ing liar and a thief."

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The video in question, directed, shot, and edited by the mysterious figure "John," whom Mr. Fantasy introduced to the, let's call it, Fantasy-verse last August, stars some of Apa's closest friends and collaborators.

*Riverdale *stars and @blondebrunetteredhead trio Lili Reinhardt, Camila Mendes, and Madelaine Petsch all appear in "Do Me Right," which features Mr. Fantasy in full, flagrant off-putting mode singing about "sex on the beach" and wanting to "eat a peach" over a disco beat.

Why, Apa fans naturally asked themselves, would Reinhardt, Mendes, and Petsch all appear in the music video for a man whose face and voice strongly resemble Apa's, and whose tattoos identically match Apa's, but himself isn't Apa? Especially if the real Apa was sincerely vexed by the impersonator's impersonations.

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Mr. Fantasy and Camila Mendes in the 'Do Me Right' video.

MR. FANTASY/YouTube

The video for "Do Me Right" also features stars like Dave Franco, Nick Jonas, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Zoey Deutch, Kiernan Shipka, and Rob Lowe.

Many of those featured in cameo roles left tongue-in-cheek comments on Apa's incensed post on Monday, with Derek Hough writing, "I hope you guys can find a middle ground," and Deutch noting, "I had no idea it was affecting your life like this."

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