Penn Badgley: ‘You’ Directors Told Me I Make Every Masturbation Scene Too Creepy
Penn Badgley revealed on the latest episode of his “Podcrushed” podcast that he’s been given a director’s note every time he’s filmed a masturbation scene for “You” to make the scene “less creepy.” The note always leaves the actor baffled considering he stars on the series as a serial killer. “You” started its run on Lifetime before it exploded in popularity with its Season 2 debut on Netflix.
“Every time I’ve done a masturbation scene…I’ve always gotten the note to make it less creepy,” Badgley told co-hosts Sophie Ansari and Nava Kavelin and the episode’s guest, his former “Gossip Girl” co-star Chace Crawford (via Insider). “They say like, ‘Close your eyes or go faster or go slower.’ I’m like, ‘What? This man is fucking murdering people, and he’s masturbating in the street. You’re saying I’m making it creepy? How is it I’m the one making it creepy?'”
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“I just remember I wouldn’t close my eyes and the director came up to me,” Badgley added. “He was like ‘Buddy, I think you gotta close your eyes.'”
Badgley maintained that being creepy is “the fucking point” when it comes to playing his character Joe, saying “That’s just the strange line that we’re always walking on our show. Examining toxicity in sexual culture while also trying to be sexy.”
“You read it. It’s actually kind of funny or it’s creepy but it serves the story,” Badley added about masturbation scenes. “And then you discover in front of a crew of people with a camera on your face, knowing that, in all likelihood, millions of people are going to see this, you’re simulating masturbation.”
“You” is currently in production on its fourth season, which will once again star Badgely opposite Season 3 addition Tati Gabrielle. New cast members include Charlotte Ritchie and Lukas Gage, plus Tilly Keeper, Amy Leigh Hickman and Ed Speleers as series regulars. The cast also includes Niccy Lin, Aidan Cheng, Stephen Hagan, Ben Wiggins, Eve Austin, Ozioma Whenu, Dario Coates, Sean Pertwee, Brad Alexander, Alison Pargeter and Adam James.
Click here for details on the upcoming “You” Season 4.
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