Penn Badgley has weighed in on the viral petition for Cardi B to join YOU season 4. Badgley is known for playing Dan Humphrey (a.k.a. "Lonely Boy") in CW's drama, Gossip Girl. He currently stars in Netflix's YOU, a psychological thriller based on the bestselling books of Caroline Kepnes. Badgley portrays the lead, Joe Goldberg, a seemingly innocent boy-next-door who has a murderous secret. In YOU season 1, Joe started out as a bookstore manager in New York who stalks and kills an aspiring writer. Season 2 saw the character move to Los Angeles so he could start a new life. There, he met Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti) and quickly fell back into his pattern of obsession and violence.
YOU season 3, which premiered on Netflix on October 15, explored Joe and Love's savage attempts to put up a perfect family appearance in the idyllic Californian suburb of Madre Linda. The thriller is one of the most-viewed series on Netflix and is already renewed for season 4. The show's popularity has reached even celebrities, including rapper Cardi B, who fans petitioned to be cast in YOU season 4 after having an interesting exchange with Badgley on Twitter.
In his latest appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Badgley finally responded to fans' request to have Cardi B guest star on YOU season 4. According to the 34-year-old actor, the Cardi B commotion on Twitter led to fans creating an actual petition on Change.org to include the rapper in the hit series. While Badgley appeared to be amused by all the positive attention his show is getting, he was quick to manage the fans' expectations. He revealed that as of the moment, he doesn't know if the show's creators plan to guest the famous rapper in future episodes. Read Badgley's comments below:
"This is a thing that we have now, me and Cardi. I definitely can't say, but there is actually — I believe this is true — there's an actual Change.org petition. I can't say because I don't know... I actually don't know, I'm not being coy."
For context, Badgley previously spoke about Cardi B's authenticity on social media while on a press tour for YOU season 1. As it turns out, the pop star is a huge fan of the show and she shared the old clip days after season 3 dropped on Netflix. The streaming giant officially joined in on the discussion and changed its Twitter bio to: "Petition to get Cardi B to guest star in Season 4 of You!" In response, Cardi B changed her profile picture to display Badgley's photo as Joe Goldberg and suggested a fitting storyline for her character. "So it’s episode 1 and I’m at Paris Fashion week shutting it down! I turn around and there stands YOU. Ok finish it off, Netflix!" the rapper tweeted.
While Cardi B's campaign to guest star in YOU started as a jest, it is not impossible for the drama-thriller to officially invite her to appear in the upcoming season 4. The rapper's presence even as a cameo would definitely add star power to the hit series. However, as Badgley commented, it may be too early for YOU's creators to set anything in stone with regards to how season 4 will play out. As the show is still basking in season 3's recent success, it may take a while before production for the next installment begins.
Whether or not Cardi B will be part of YOU season 4, fans can expect things to be murkier for Joe in upcoming episodes. Season 3's finale saw him arriving in Paris after literally burning his life to the ground in California. He's in a new place with a new name, but as the previous seasons masterfully displayed, some habits will be hard to break.
Source: Jimmy Kimmy Live