Penn Badgley Requested Fewer Sex Scenes in 'You'

The 36-year-old actor, who stars as the psychopathic lead in Netflix’s You, revealed in a recent episode of his Stitcher Studios podcast Podcrushed that the show’s newest season will contain "a phenomenal reduction" in sex scenes out of respect for his wife of six years, Domino Kirke.

"Fidelity, in every relationship and especially in my marriage, is important to me," Badgley explained to co-hosts Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari. "It just got to a point where I don’t wanna do that."

The Netflix show, which premiered its fourth season yesterday, is not shy about including gratuitous scenes of oral and penetrative sex, masturbation and even a foursome with most — if not all — scenes featuring its main character Joe Goldberg, played by Badgley.

Badgley traced his reluctance to play romantic leads back to before he decided to take on the role of Joe. But the actor ultimately confessed to having qualms about the potential consequences of this desire on his acting career despite feeling an obligation to perform intimate scenes

"You know, think about every male lead you’ve loved. Are they kissing someone? Are they doing a lot more than that?" Badgley posed on the episode. "Do I have a career if I don’t?"

The actor, who is also known widely for his role as Dan Humphrey in the original Gossip Girl, details a conversation he had with You show creator Sera Gamble in which he expressed that he'd like "to go from a hundred to zero" scenes of intimacy.

With the last few months of 2022 exposing the cheating scandals of infamous wife guys Ned Fulmer (formerly of The Try Guys) and Maroon 5's Adam Levine, the internet is more than ready for a husband who honors his marriage vows.

And Badgley, You better not disappoint.

Photo courtesy of Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty