Penn Badgley Blames Netflix for Making Serial Killers So Sexy

Fans of You will be the first to admit that Penn Badgley's Joe Goldberg has an undeniable charm — but they'll also admit that there's just something undeniably creepy about feeling a certain way about a known serial killer. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Badgley says that part of the blame goes to Netflix, a streamer known to make very scary men very very hot (see: the aforementioned You, Zac Efron playing Ted Bundy, and Evan Peters playing Jeffrey Dahmer).

"To be fair, with our show, you’re meant to fall in love with [Joe]. That’s on us. Ted Bundy? That’s on you. Jeffrey Dahmer? That is on — Netflix," he said. "That is squarely on the shoulders of Netflix.” 

Badgley went on to say that he'd had “long” thoughts on the strange allure that some people feel towards serial killers, but couldn't really explain it. Eventually, he just called it “weird.”

Last week, Badgley made headlines when he shared that he would refrain from filming intimate scenes on You, citing that he wanted to be faithful to his wife, Domino Kirke.

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

"Fidelity in every relationship — and especially in my marriage — is important to me," he added. "I said to Sera, like, 'My desire would be zero, to go from 100 to zero."

Part one of You's fourth season is streaming now.