Cole Sprouse reveals why he has received ‘death threats, really nasty, honestly criminal stuff’ over ‘Riverdale’

The casting members of The CW popular series, Riverdale assembled to provide plenty of opinions on the show’s end as well as their respective experiences on the show. In an interview with Vulture, they shared their collective journey throughout the show’s run, differing experiences, and also reflected on their lives before the series began.  

However, when the discussion reached the show’s massive fandom, Cole Sprouse immediately took the initiative to talk about how he was impacted by some of the key elements of a toxic fan culture that in this context includes hate messages and threats. “I get a lot of stuff sent to my house or my loved ones’ houses. Death threats, really nasty, honestly criminal stuff. And I do think it’s because at least four of us at this table have dated our co-workers,” is what Sprouse — who plays Jughead Jones in the show — said on the subject.

Casey Cott also responded by saying that the fans’ inability to differentiate between the characters and real people propels these kinds of responses. In this case, Sprouse implied how in many cases, the relationship between the characters and the actors coincided. Like, how both Sprouse and Lili Reinhart — who played Jughead and Betty — were romantically involved on and off screen, potentially adding to their fans’ confusion.

The same goes for Camilla Mendes and Charles Melton – who reportedly dated for about a year in 2018. In other words, it’s the overlapping of on-screen and off-screen chemistry amongst the characters which — as per Sprouse — has reinforced the crazy fandom and online bullying and threats.