Throwing it back! Penn Badgley completely made a Gossip Girl fan’s day with a birthday message like no other. In a video shared on TikTok, the actor, who portrayed Dan Humphrey on the CW series, sent a birthday message to the fan — and added something extra at the end.
“Happy birthday Serena,” Badgley, 34, said before adding, “XOXO.” He also gasped at the end, knowing how exciting the fan would be when he said Gossip Girl’s famous sign off.
@shneens WAITED MY WHOLE LIFE TO HEAR HIM CALL ME BY MY NAME. #serenavanderwoodsen #penbadgely #you #gossipgirl #VivaCleanHacks #FestiveFashion
The actor starred in the hit teen drama from 2007 to 2012 alongside Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Ed Westwick and Chace Crawford. Lively’s character — who Badgley’s character ended up with in the end — was named Serena.
“I’ve always tried to be both transparent and forthcoming and grateful of the way Gossip Girl positioned me to be in a role like this and for it to have the particular effect that it has,” the You star told Variety in June. “Because it’s interesting that regardless of my performance, the fact that it’s simply me, just one of the main characters of the show called Gossip Girl, and I ended up being Gossip Girl — even though we can debate about whether or not that makes sense. And we can debate about whether or not Dan is even really a male lead in the show, because the heart of the show was somewhere else.”
He added that his current role of stalker and killer Joe in You has many similarities to his CW role.
“It’s me playing this guy Joe, and it makes a lot of sense in a way. The funny thing is I didn’t get excited to be like, ‘Oh, this is such a different and interesting take on a similar vibe,’” the musician added. “I was, if anything, too self-conscious about that, and I was inclined to be like, ‘This is quite different.’ But in a way, it’s almost like Dan, just with bloody hands.”
In 2017, Badgley also noted that he didn’t fully understand the hit show — but is finally owning that he is, in fact, Gossip Girl, as revealed in the finale.
“I think I got that show the least out of anyone who was a part of it. I have to just admit that,” he told TVLine. “But I’m happy to wear that crown, so to speak. Like, yeah, OK. I’m Gossip Girl. That’s cool. I think the most honest thing I can say about it is that it’s very hard for anyone to have that much perspective about themselves.”
