Penn Badgley Successfully Petitioned ‘You’ Showrunner for Him to Have Far Fewer Sex Scenes in Season 4

The 36-year-old actor opened up about the showrunner's reaction to his request for his character for the fourth season, which is streaming now on Netflix.

penn badgley requested no sex scenes
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penn badgley requested no sex scenes

Penn Badgley isn’t afraid to voice his boundaries. 

On the latest episode of Stitcher Studios' Podcrushed, the 36-year-old actor said he told You showrunner Sera Gamble he didn’t want to film sex scenes in the fourth season of the Netflix series.

"I asked Sera Gamble, [the] creator, 'Can I just do no more intimacy scenes?' This was actually a decision I had made before I took the show. I don't think I've ever mentioned it publicly, but one of the main things is, ‘Do I want to put myself back on a career path where I'm always [the] romantic lead?’" he said. 

He continued, "It got to a point where [I thought], 'I don't want to do that,' so I said to Sera, like, 'My desire would be zero [intimate scenes], to go from 100 to zero.'"

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And while Badgley knew his request might not be honored, he said he understood the nature of the business. "I signed this contract. I signed up for the show. I know what I did," he explained.

Luckily, Gamble and Badgley were on the same page about the latter’s intimate scenes. Gamble agreed to the request without hesitation.

"[She] didn't even bat an eye. She was really glad that I was that honest, and she was sort of almost empowered. She had a really positive response and they came back with a phenomenal reduction," the Gossip Girl alum recalled. 

The first half of You’s fourth season is now streaming on Netflix.

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