The star of You, Penn Badgley, recently commented on the allegations against his co-star and talked a bit about the series’ dark subject matter. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, the former Gossip Girl star said that he’s “very troubled” by the accusations.
“It did affect me deeply,” Badgley said on the L.A. Times’ TV podcast. “I was very troubled by it. I am very troubled by it. I don’t know Chris. I know that, if there’s anything we need to do in this age, it’s to believe women.”
Earlier in June, several women accused D’Elia of messaging them on social media while they were underage and trying to meet them in person with sexual implications.
The user behind the Twitter handle @sheratesdogs (an expose account dedicated to horrible dating experiences) claimed in a mid-June thread that they received hundreds of similar messages, both from underage and legal-age women, with details of inappropriate contact with D’Elia.
In a statement provided to TMZ, D’Elia denied the allegations. “All of my relationships have been both legal and consensual and I have never met or exchanged any inappropriate photos with the people who have tweeted about me,” he stated. “That being said, I really am truly sorry. I was a dumb guy who ABSOLUTELY let myself get caught up in my lifestyle. That’s MY fault. I own it. I’ve been reflecting on this for some time now and I promise I will continue to do better.”
In light of the allegations, Badgley is wondering if casting processes could be revamped to avoid elevating problematic actors.
“I also am thinking about how to somehow not—the idea that a show like ours would indirectly, unwittingly be a haven for people who are abusive is disturbing,” Badgley said of You, in his conversation with the L.A. Times. “It’s very disturbing. What does it take to change that? Because it’s not just vetting individuals. There needs to be a change in culture and attitude so that that kind of behavior is so clearly reprehensible, it’s so clearly, like, anti-human.”
Badgley also spoke about how You’s content, while dark, could be useful. (On the show, Badgley plays a serial killer who stalks women that he becomes personally involved with.) The 33-year-old actor said that he hopes the series helps to shine a light on negatives in our culture.
“You know, to the degree that the subject matter is conflicting and challenging in that end, trying to create that culture, does a show like ours help to create that culture?” he said. “Well, I know that at least our show is trying to be—thinks about things in a dismantling, deconstructive manner. I would hope that at least our show is not serving to uphold these kind of, like, bunk ways of being and these systems, right?”
The actor also revealed that Jenna Ortega, a 17-year-old who acted with D’Elia in a handful of scenes, was contacted by You’s production team after the allegations surfaced, to ensure she felt safe while filming. “We can feel safe and sound there,” Badgley said.
Newsweek has reached out to D’Elia’s representation for comment, but did not get a response by time of publication. We’ll update this piece with any statement we receive.
