On June 7, Cole Sprouse posted a photo to Instagram that showed off his face—and his naked buttocks. “Good morning to my publicity squad,” the Riverdale actor said as a caption to the photo.
The photoshopped picture, which seemed to have been changed to give Cole a rounder tush, caused a big stir on social media, with fans of the actor making Cole the target of all their jokes.
“How long until this gets taken down?” Ari Fournier, Cole’s girlfriend, wrote in the comment section. Meanwhile, Mason Gooding, Cole’s Moonshot co-star, tweeted, “Hate to see you go, love to watch you leave.”
And the witty remarks didn’t end there. One user captioned the photo: “Cole and the huge peach.”
Lana Condor, his Moonshot co-star, responded to Cole’s message with a simple but powerful “No.”
Although this is Cole’s most shocking selfie to date, it isn’t the first time he has made admirers do a double take on Instagram.
Last week, the 29-year-old published a couple of photos of himself sporting a bushy beard and a big mustache, as well as a period outfit. Even though he seemed to be in character, it’s not clear what role or new project this group was put together for.
In an interview with GQ magazine published the day before, Cole hinted at being ready to explore a new age of opportunity when Riverdale ended. On the CW program, the actor who plays Jughead Jones revealed that he and the majority of his castmates are eager to “close it up with a bow” and go on to the next chapter.
Instagram/ Getty images
Perhaps more time with Ari, whom he met last year, will be included in this new chapter. When they were seen walking hand-in-hand in March 2021, it seemed to confirm that they were dating.
Sharing their love on the internet, on the other hand, hasn’t been easy. In an interview with GQ, Cole discussed the “online vitriol” he faced after posting photos of Ari.
“Everything about Ari and me is reported as bullying by followers, and it gets taken down quite quickly,” he told the outlet. “It’s taken down on all of my other friends’ accounts as well.”
In July, the duo made their relationship official on Instagram, marking his first public relationship since his separation from Riverdale co-star Lili Reinhart in March 2020.