Penn Badgley reveals having anxiety after 'Gossip Girl' fame
'It was not the most fulfilling or meaningful contribution that I could make as an individual,' said Penn Badgley
July 30, 2021
Penn Badley said he suffered anxiety after gaining massive fame in Gossip Girl.
The You actor, while speaking on the podcast Baha'i Blogcast with Rainn Wilson, said playing up his fame on social media was like being "caught up in ego and our materialist culture."
"It was not the most fulfilling or meaningful contribution that I could make as an individual seeking to better the world."
Penn also has personal experience dealing with what he and host Rainn Wilson termed "another disadvantage of our celebrity-obsessed society."
He said on the podcast that he had an anxiety attack while on a press tour two years ago, when he went to a mall in Manila, Philippines, to meet with fans.
"It was packed with thousands of screaming adults. In all of my years of witnessing some form of adulation, like the fan experience, this one was really over the top. I had an anxiety attack that press trip." Penn revealed, "And I'm not a person who has that. I mean, look, I have anxieties I think. I'm human." He said that time of his life "really was profound."
