Emergency Substack: Mr. Fantasy who?
KJ Apa, what are you doing here?
Every now and then, there is something so strange, so off-putting, so kooky happening in the culture that I must abandon my responsibilities (tonight, it was making a dent in my forthcoming Japan Guide) and reroute.
Have ya’ll heard about Mr. Fantasy?
Apparently, Mr. Fantasy has been a social media personality since the summer — planted by the powers that be, or so it would seem. He has an Austin Powers vibe, complete with vibrant 70s getup and bad teeth. The content is just a nonsensical smattering of eccentric videos that chronicle an out-of-touch “journey” to fame.
And, it’s obviously KJ Apa, of Riverdale fame, behind the persona.
You guys….how did this never cross my desk until Mr. Fantasy made his first real public debut at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? A real-life Hanna Montana gag?! Come ON.
I was watching Busy Philipps’ stories tonight, and she had it down: Riverdale bred some weirdos in a mostly good and galaxy-brained way. KJ Apa, breaking free from Archie Andrews and cosplaying as a delusional British rockstar wannabe? Why yes!
It’s so weird, I love it so much, I need to understand why this is happening.
I imagine KJ Apa, bored out of his mind post Riverdale, unable to get an audition or script that isn’t a bad Netflix movie, saying to his young child and hot model wife: I’d like to be a rockstar, luv.
That’s what seven seasons of CW money affords you — an alter ego. How delightful! How whimsical! Something fun and innocent, and strange to chew on. Perhaps I only care about this because for seven years, the Riverdale cast felt like roommates to anyone who worked or lived near Gastown.
I wish Mr. Fantasy well. I hope this stays silly and we never find out what’s going on.