Penn Badgley exposes ‘extremely unnatural' reality

Penn Badgley just admitted he had to “really grapple” with the cons of fame.

The 39-year-old, who garnered popularity at the ripe age of 20 after starring as Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl, revealed that his "extreme privileges" came with its fair share of struggles.

As he spoke to The Guardian newspaper, emphasizing that he doesn’t want people to feel sorry for him, Badgley said, "[Fame is] extremely unnatural, just the way that people want to relate to you. It’s not a new idea that fame has all these nefarious dimensions to it.

"And in order to even appreciate or utilise the privileges that come with it, one has to really grapple with the ways in which it’s completely disabled parts of you or your life, or your relationship to others and society,” the You actor added.

He further mentioned, "The privileges and the sacrifices are both extreme and obscene, and so you have to take them both.”

“In order to be a decent person, a good father and a husband, a good friend, a responsible colleague, I’ve been grappling with all the ways in which this stuff is just not a good way for somebody to live,” Badgley explained to the outlet.

For the unversed, Penn Badgley is married to Domino Kirke, with whom is expecting to welcome twins. He is also a father to four-year-old James and stepdad to his spouse's 15-year-old son Cassius.