Penn Badgley’s Wife Speaks out About His Decision to Stop Doing Intimate Scenes

Ready to clear up some confusion, Penn Badgley’s wife, Domino Kirke, addresses speculation that she asked the Gossip Girl star to stop doing intimate scenes.

In a recent Instagram video, Kirke called out those who have repeatedly sent her direct messages about “this thing that happened three years ago,” while referring to an article in which her husband discusses why he no longer does intimate scenes.

“The characters that my husband has played over the years, people have come to expect that he will continue to play that guy,” Kirke shared in the video post. “I was super happy for him and very proud of him because I understood how major it was. And yea, it’s just relational hygiene.”

However, her husband’s fans seem to blame her for his decision, prompting her to finally speak out.

“I want to say to those of you who still DM me about my husband deciding to do this for himself and his mental health, like, get over it,” she stated.

In the post’s caption, Kirke wrote, “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 his own mental health reason. After working in the industry since he was just 12 years old, believe me, it was time.”

Kirke went on to compare her work as a doula to her husband’s entertainment career.

“Caregivers are so ready to be invisible, collapse, disappear, or take direction no matter what. They’re constantly allowing folks to blaze past their boundaries, all in the spirit of being accommodating or, in my husband’s case, entertaining,” she explained. “They’re OK with being forgettable. Sometimes I ask people what their doula’s name was, and they’re like, ‘Oh, I don’t remember!’ 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 further pointed out, “It’s wild how rarely we talk about relational hygiene and mental health for the people in the caregiving world AND the entertainment world. Entertainers, birth professionals, and caregivers 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.”

Badgely stated in a 2023 episode of his Podcrushed podcast that he approached You creator Sera Gamble and asked to refrain from having any more intimate scenes on the show.

“I asked Sera Gamble, ‘Can I just do no more intimacy scenes?’” he recalled. “Fidelity in every relationship, and especially my marriage, is really important to me.”

Badgely continued by recounting his conversation with Gamble. “I said to Sera, ‘My desire would be zero, to go from 100 to zero.’ But I signed this contract; I signed up for this show; I know what I did. You can’t take this aspect out of the DNA of the concept, so ‘How much less can you make it?’ was my question for them.”

The actor said Gamble “didn’t even bat an eye” at his request. “She was really glad that I was that honest, and she had a really positive response. She appreciated my directness, and she appreciated that I was being reasonable and practical. And they came back with a phenomenal reduction.”