Penn Badgley is no stranger to weirdly obsessive characters who fixate on other people's lives; the actor, who played the role Dan Humphrey for five years in 'Gossip Girl', has taken on those stalker skills once again in the new Netflix psychological thriller, 'You'. Even more ominous than his role in the 00s American teen drama, in this series Badgley plays the part of Joe Goldberg, a man whose fixation on the young and beautiful Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail) warps into a crazed obsession and drives him (more than once) to the point of murder.
Despite Joe's evident portrayal as a cold, calculating, heartless stalker, this has not stopped the internet losing their heads over his pretty face, and this has lead to some rather worrying romantisation of the topic in general. Badgey, for one, wants to make clear that this level of toxicity is not only repulsive, but extremely dangerous. Many fans have tweeted the actor, showing their appreciation of the new show. But when they take their fandom too far, he is quick to clap back and shut down any glamorisation of the character's behavior. One fan tweeted the actor begging him to kidnap her (because that's romantic, right?) and his response made his feelings clear:
No thx https://t.co/VnBqJ3JoxG
? Penn Badgley (@PennBadgley) 9 de enero de 2019
Similarly, when other fans have gushed over the character, he did not hesitate to highlight that there is absolutely nothing romantic about Joe:
A: He is a murderer https://t.co/g2g4f3JvaF
? Penn Badgley (@PennBadgley) 9 de enero de 2019
Ditto. It will be all the motivation I need for season 2. https://t.co/fy2hojauDG
? Penn Badgley (@PennBadgley) 9 de enero de 2019
The actor wants to make it clear that his character's behavior is not normal, desirable.
My favorite feedback so far ? https://t.co/jDWLRw2o5C
? Penn Badgley (@PennBadgley) 8 de enero de 2019
Crazy in Love
Glamorising crazy behavior in the name of love is nothing new on the silver screen. There are hundreds of examples of male characters from popular culture who "would do anything for love", to the point at which they become obsessive and controlling: we can think of anything from 'Twilight' to 'The Notebook', 'American Beauty' (and most other rom-coms). In 'You' we simply see these existing traits being elevated them to a level of complete insanity. When discussing his character, Bagdley told ET, "In a way, he's trying to be the kind of man that he's seen in movies. He's also threatened by the kind of man he thinks he's meant to be, in terms of a brooding, brutish man; strong, cold predator, more or less. How predatory are the male icons we've loved for decades? He's threatened by the male archetype and then he tries to embody it, and he's sorely mistaken on both counts."
Could 2019 be the year in which we finally stop romanticising obsession and toxicity? With the worrying feedback that Bagdley is receiving, it seems not... but we can hope.
