Penn Badgley Reveals Who Would Win in a Fight Between “Gossip Girl”'s Dan Humphrey and “You'”s Joe Goldberg
- - Penn Badgley Reveals Who Would Win in a Fight Between “Gossip Girl”'s Dan Humphrey and “You'”s Joe Goldberg
Virginia ChamleeNovember 12, 2025 at 2:20 AM
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Andrew Eccles/The CW; Beth Dubber/Netflix
Penn Badgley as Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl; Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg in YOU -
Penn Badgley is weighing in on who would win in a fight between Dan Humphrey and Joe Goldberg
Badgley played the character of Humphrey — a loner and aspiring writer — on Gossip Girl and the role of Goldberg — a stalker and serial killer — on You
"I feel like Joe is actually, technically speaking, way more of a loner and way nerdier than Dan," Badgley said in the November 11 episode of Amanda Hirsch’s Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast
Penn Badgley is weighing in on who would win in a physical altercation between Dan Humphrey — his character in the CW's Gossip Girl — and Joe Goldberg, his character in the hit Netflix show You.
On the Nov. 11, 2025, episode of the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast hosted by Amanda Hirsch, Badgley, 39, at first suggested Joe would be the victor before adding, "If they have the exact same physical makeup, then I don't know, maybe it would be fine."
"I'm the least fun answerer of fantastical questions," Badgley added. "I mean, I guess it would be Joe — but maybe Dan?"
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As Humphrey, Badgley played an aspiring writer and poet seen as something of an outsider at the elite Upper East Side prep school he attended on scholarship.
Goldberg, meanwhile, was a stalker and serial killer on You, a Lifetime-turned-Netflix thriller based on books by Caroline Kepnes. Badgley first started playing Goldberg in 2018, and the series wrapped in April 2025.
Speaking to Hirsch, Badgley said, "I feel like Joe is actually, technically speaking, way more of a loner and way nerdier than Dan. I was thicker, then, in early season Gossip Girl ... and he was angry, he punched people kind of right from the jump, whereas Joe waits and waits and waits and waits. He would let somebody punch him, then stab him in the back."
"I think Joe is actually technically more spineless. Everyone thinks of him as a strong dude, but he's completely spineless," he said.
"So here's my answer," Badgley then clarified. "I think Dan would win in a fight but then Joe would kill him — he'd kill him in a real spineless way, He'd trick him, and kill him."
Amanda Hirsch/Not Skinny But Not Fat
Amanda Hirsch and Penn Badgley
In an earlier interview with PEOPLE, the actor opened up about how formative his role on You had been for him, saying of the character, "I think I will miss him a little bit. He's been a profound experience for me. He's not a real person. So what have I been doing? I've been engaging in this long [journey] my entire 30s."
Badgley adds that Joe has "taught me a lot about what it is to be a man by knowing what it is not. And I don't mean the obvious things like, 'Oh, don't murder. That's bad.' That's very clear."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
