Penn Badgley, aka Gossip Girl’s Dan Humphrey, aka You’s charming-but-also-kinda-murdery Joe Goldberg, is getting real—like, real real—about his childhood struggles with body dysmorphia. And no, a doctor didn’t hand him a diagnosis wrapped in a bow, but little Penn knew one thing for sure: he absolutely hated his body growing up. Like, “Why can’t I trade this in for the Zac Efron Starter Pack?” levels of self-loathing.
“I just wanted a different body,” Penn told The Guardian, which is honestly a very relatable mood. He shared that his insecurities got worse after gaining weight while navigating the emotional rollercoaster of his parents’ divorce. Because, you know, nothing says “puberty party” like emotional trauma with a side of body image issues.
He confessed he wanted to look like the action heroes in movies—ripped, chiseled, oiled up like they just came from a CrossFit session sponsored by Greek gods. But instead, young Penn felt more like a sad panini: squished, overlooked, and slightly toasted by life.
Fast forward to his acting career, and things didn’t exactly get easier. “Coming out of depression and isolation, I basically jumped headfirst into a career that screams, ‘LOOK HOT OR GO HOME,’” he said (not in those exact words, but spiritually, yes). Penn realized quickly that in Hollywood, the hotter you are, the more you’re rewarded—which is a great message for nobody ever.
“There’s no avoiding the superficial side of this job,” he added, basically dragging the entire entertainment industry and society. Like, yes Penn, give us philosophy with a side of six-pack realness.
But let’s be real—Penn Badgley opening up about this stuff is lowkey heroic. Especially in a world where we pretend only girls get body insecurities and guys are just born with abs and confidence. Shoutout to Penn for pulling back the curtain, showing the mess behind the magic, and reminding us that even the “hot guy from TV” once looked in the mirror and went, “Ew.”
And if that’s not the most humbling plot twist since Gossip Girl was revealed, I don’t know what is.
