YOU star Penn Badgley reveals how he wants his serial killer character’s story to end
‘Death is almost too easy for him,’ claimed the actor
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Penn Badgley has opened up about how he wanted his character in Netflix’s hit series YOU to be killed off.
In the drama, Badgley plays Joe, a seemingly normal American man who lives a double life as a stalker and serial killer.
Speaking to Vulture in a new interview, Badgley revealed he used to have a “go-to answer” for how he wished his predatory character’s arc would finish – a Black female character should kill him.
The article describes the idea as an “easy liberal revenge fantasy”.
However, Badgley added that such a scene would “not [be] fair to do that to that woman”.
“Punishment is important, but what form of punishment is actually effective?” he asked. “With Joe, the irony is that death is almost too easy for him.”
Badgley then speculated about a number of other punishments for his character, suggesting that he “deserves” torture but questioned whether someone deserved “to have to do it”.
“It’s a strange question to ask because I really don’t know,” said Badgley, “and this show isn’t going to answer that question.”
The actor has spoken previously about his unease about the character’s reception among some of the show’s fans.
Responding to tweets from fans asking for him to lock them in his “murder cage”, Badgley previously said: “You’re supposed to see past my face to the crazy s***!”
The teaser trailer for the third season of YOU was released earlier today. The season will debut on Netflix on 15 October.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments