Penn Badgley responds to fans 'romanticising' his serial killer character in Netflix's You

The former Gossip Girl star slammed fans who described his creepy character as "heart-breaking"
Romanticised: Badgley reminded his fans that his You character is highly problematic
The Weekender

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Former Gossip Girl star Penn Badgley has waded into the Twitter debate surrounding his new Netflix show You, reminding fans that they need to stop romanticising his terrifying character.

Badgley plays Joe Goldberg, a serial killer who uses social media to stalk young female writer Beck, played by Elizabeth Lail, and manipulate her into a romantic relationship.

In a series of tweets posted last night, the actor responded to fans praising his character.

One asked: “Said this already but @PennBadgley is breaking my heart once again as Joe. What is it about him?” Badgley bluntly responded: “A: He is a murderer.”

“Okay but @PennBadgley was sexy as Dan [in Gossip Girl] but lord Joe is a whole new level,” another fan wrote.

Badgley replied: “… of problems, right?”

When one viewer wrote “Kidnap me pls,” alluding to a major plot point in the Netflix show, he simply responded: “No thnx.”

He voiced his agreement with one fan who said “the amount of people romanticizing @PennBadgley’s character in YOU scares me,” writing: “Ditto. It will be all the motivation I need for season 2.”

Last year, the actor told the Standard that he plans to move into producing to create shows that don’t focus on the “privileged white male” characters he has become famous for playing.

He said: “Joe is peak white male privilege. I’m interested in telling stories that don’t centre on someone like me, so I would probably have to produce and write, and those things are in the works.”

He also revealed that he hoped the show would make viewers question the value of obsessive love. “You examine ideas about love that we see so often portrayed in media; behaviour of jealousy and obsession,” he said.

“If our show can be some small drop in this greater conversation about the equality of men and women, then that’s the best I could hope for.”

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