The Social Planning and Events Committee hosted actor Penn Badgley for a Tuesday evening question-and-answer session at Zellerbach Theatre.
The April 7 event, moderated by relationship coach Nura Mowzoon, focused on how love is represented in media. Tickets for the event, which was managed by SPEC’s Connaissance and Film branches, sold out the day they were released.
Badgley — best known for his roles in the television series “Gossip Girl” and “You,” and the 2010 film “Easy A” — frequently encountered the theme of love in his acting experiences. In “You,” he played an “intense young man” who “inserts himself into the lives of women who fascinate him.”
“It’s far more a show about romance than murder,” Badgley said, emphasizing its focus on “how our notions of love cause us to objectify the person that we claim to love.”
Badgley added that his “place in pop culture” gave him the opportunity to reflect on “what kind of responsibility" he “would, should, or could have.”
“On one hand, it’s entertainment, it’s meant to be fun, and we don’t need to unturn every stone — it’s just a show,” Badgley said. “At the same time, the rate at which these single projects get viewed is just out of control.”
Badgley and Mowzoon have visited multiple universities as part of their ‘Can We Talk’ series. The initiative aims to teach students how to navigate “meaningful conversations during really turbulent times,” according to Mowzoon.
Ethan Nemeth, one of the directors of SPEC Film, told The Daily Pennsylvanian that the group had initially only invited Badgley, but the actor had requested for Mowzoon to be included.
RELATED:
Flo Rida to headline 2026 Spring Fling concert
“He really wanted to bring in Nura to speak with him, which was something that we were super excited about,” Nemeth said. “I believe that these events are most exciting when the moderator and the interviewee know each other and have a rapport.”
According to Badgley, he met Mowzoon in 2019 — the year season 2 of “You” was about to “go viral.”
Mowzoon, who teaches at Arizona State University, noticed that “students had a very distorted view of what love and passion should look like and feel like.” She invited Badgley to an ASU event for a discussion about how narratives in media about love and relationships “influence the way that we approach dating.”
College senior Angele Diamacoune, an event attendee, expressed that Badgley gave a “very introspective” talk because his perspective on love wasn’t something she was “expecting to hear.”
College sophomore Jessica Nguyen told the DP that Badgley took the discussion in an unclear direction, where he conveyed a message that “didn’t make any sense.”
“It’s really hard to connect as a student,” Nguyen said.
During the talk, Badgley said that he is currently skeptical about the entertainment industry.
“I have lost faith in the role that it plays and the good that it can do,” he said. “I think what I have come to see is far more the harm that it can do.”
Mowzoon shared her own concerns during the discussion, focusing on an increasing sadness and anxiety among young people. She emphasized the importance of building a supportive community.
“No matter how sad and isolated you feel, there are others in your world who feel the exact same way, who are just waiting to be invited to connect,” she said.
