Netflix star Penn Badgley once again criticizes the use of sex scenes in his hit series “You.” According to Badgley, those scenes are disturbing to film. In a new interview with Variety, he said, “It’s not a place where I’ve blurred lines. There’s almost nothing I could say with more consecration. That aspect of Hollywood has always been very disturbing to me, and that aspect of the job, that mercurial boundary, has always been something that I actually don’t want to play with at all.”

Another reason Badgley doesn’t like intimate scenes is that at this point in his career, he’s typically older than the actresses he films them with, which wasn’t always the case. He stressed, “It’s important to me in my real life not to have them.” When asked for clarification, he said, “My fidelity in my relationship. It’s important to me. And actually, it was one of the reasons that I initially wanted to turn the role down. I didn’t tell anybody that. But that is why.”

Badgley’s wife, singer and doula Domino Kirke, “encouraged” him to take the role, and as he put it, “I wasn’t going to listen to anyone more than her.” The popular Netflix show recently premiered the first half of its fourth season. While the show’s creator, Sera Gamble, was discussing Badgley’s character’s storyline, he took the opportunity to discuss his concerns.

“I told her kind of my desire, and she immediately was accepting and responsive,” he said. “I’m always very practical. I said I know it can’t be none because there’s something coded into the DNA of the show, and I signed the contract, and so it is what it is, but as little as possible would be my preference.”

Fans who watch the new episodes will notice that Badgley got his wish. The sex scenes, which were very graphic in earlier seasons, were toned down. However, this isn’t the first time he’s discussed his issue with these scenes. Badgley also addressed the topic on his podcast, “Podcrushed.” He asked Gamble, “Can I just do no more intimacy scenes?” He added that, ideally, the show would have “zero” of those moments.

Again, he recognized that sex is a huge part of “You,” and it wouldn’t make sense to take it out completely. He repeated that Gamble was highly understanding and accommodated his request as much as possible. He cited the importance he placed on “fidelity” because he also felt uncomfortable with on-screen intimacy on the podcast.

Badgley has been married to Kirke since 2017, a year before the series premiere of “You.” They share a son, two-year-old James, and he’s also stepfather to Kirke’s son from a previous relationship, 14-year-old Cassius.