Here's why Penn Badgley has a no-sex-scenes rule in his projects
Penn Badgley's wife shared the reason why the actor is no longer keen on doing intimate scenes, noting that she was not the one who asked him to stop.
Domino Kirke-Badgley took to her Instagram account to lament that she continues to get messages from other people about an interview that Penn did where he shared that he was no longer interested in filming intimate scenes on camera.
"He didn't want to do any of that, which was really major in his industry because that's the thing they like you to do the most," she said.
"When he decided that he didn't want to do this anymore, I was super happy for him, very proud of him because I understood how major it was. It's just relational hygiene," she added.
Domino delved more into his reason in the caption as she quashed the accusations that she was behind his decision to stop filming intimate scenes.
"A few years ago, the internet decided I’d asked my husband to stop doing sex scenes. The truth is, my husband decided to do this for mental health reasons. After working in the industry since he was just 12 years old, believe me, it was time," she said.
"In the entertainment world, they call actors 'puppets' behind their backs, and it’s even more disturbing when they start out as child actors," she continued.
Domino stressed that it's "wild" how rarely people talk about relational hygiene and mental health for the people in the entertainment world.
"Entertainers... bleed to create so much for others, and then they’re expected to go home and show up for their own lives and families as though nothing happened," she said.
"So finally, after years of trying, Penn decided to take a stand and let the world see him. And guess what, he hasn’t lost fans and he’s still getting hired!" she added.
Penn first talked about his strong dislike of filming intimate scenes back in 2023. “It’s important to me in my real life to not have them," he told Variety.
"My fidelity in my relationship. It’s important to me. And actually, it was one of the reasons that I initially wanted to turn the role down. I didn’t tell anybody that. But that is why," he added.
This decision came at a time when he was filming the fourth season of the hit psychological thriller series You, which is known for its intimate scenes and complicated romantic relationships.
According to Penn, he had brought the issue up with showrunner Sera Gamble, who was immediately "accepting and responsive." This resulted in the season having fewer sex scenes, and all were performed fully clothed.