Penn Badgley's take on You's Joe Goldberg has fans asking 'Vanga boys' Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor to take note

If you think you hate You's Joe Goldberg, Penn Badgley, even after years of pouring life into the sadistic psychopathic lover boy, still will always hate him more. And the actor has never shied away from it. As a matter of fact, he has time and again addressed how wrong it is for audiences to be lusting after the bloodied lovelorn killer.

Among the sea of such clips doing the rounds of the internet, one in particular has resurfaced with a rather interesting take. Penn, once again referring to the "thirsty" reception of Joe Goldberg, reiterates how that was never the intention, either in writing the character or portraying it. He also asserted that what this essentially highlights about society at large, is their willingness to be patient and forgiving when it comes to unforgivable behaviour and intentions of someone of his colour and gender. The spin on the video clip read: "The kinda response we wish we got from the Vanga boys - Shahid and Ranbir on their characters from Kabir Singh and Animal" and immediately set the stage for a voracious back and forth in the comments section.

Comments reacting to the take read: "they could neverrrrrrr, the way this man has self reflection and maturity", "That series is dark as hell but it takes guts to actually call out things. Bollywood me toh the director/creator says so what’s wrong in abusing ur woman a little if you love her🤦‍♀️", "I love how precisely he said these without glorifying the character he plays. 🙌", "If Bollywood actors had Penn’s self-awareness, half the movies wouldn’t exist" and "Aisa response Dene k liye padhai likhai karni hoti hai".

For context, at no point during their respective promotions or after, have either Shahid Kapoor or Ranbir Kapoor ever addressed the plethora of moral problems depicted in Kabir Singh (2019) and Animal (2023), both Sandeep Reddy Vanga directorials. While Shahid, in his latest take asserted how it is not his job to "judge" a character he is playing, Ranbir simply stated in a previous interview, "I know the director had made Kabir Singh, which faced similar criticism. The hard work gets diminished because it gets this tag, which isn't true...If you don't like my work, I will say I am sorry (and) I will try harder next time".

Which side of this debate are you on?