Early last year, Penn Badgley tweeted a picture of the “Gossip Girl” DVD box set and reflected on how he and the rest of the show’s stars are depicted literally perching on New York City in the Photoshopped image. “We are reclining on New York City … Talk about an image of white privilege,” he said, with more than a hint of embarrassment.
Lol shit we are *reclining* on New York City. I'm posted up like its a futon. Talk about an image of white privilege🙈 pic.twitter.com/xPKwmyakDI
— Penn Badgley (@PennBadgley) January 23, 2015
It’s not the first (or last) time he’s expressed unease with the CW teen drama that launched his career, but the 29-year-old is making good use of the privilege afforded him from playing the show’s outsider Dan Humphrey.
In 2013, he played cult NYC singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley in the quietly celebrated movie “Greetings From Tim Buckley,” and that musical indulgence has led to the formation of his band Mothxr (pronounced “mother”), which releases their debut album, “Centerfold,” Friday.
“‘Gossip Girl’ was a great opportunity, but it would be misleading to think that anyone on that show doesn’t have anything more to offer,” Badgley tells The Post.
“We’re relying on the music to get us exposure, not whatever fumes I have left in the tank from the show. Let’s be real, I was never that famous anyway!”
The road from screen to studio isn’t uncharted territory for ex-“Gossip Girl” cast members. Taylor Momsen (who played Badgley’s on-screen sister Jenny) has impressed rock and metal fans with her group the Pretty Reckless. Mothxr (completed by bassist-producer Jimmy Giannopoulos, guitarist Simon Oscroft and keyboardist Darren Will) are a different proposition, offering up an icy, distilled R&B sound that falls between The Weeknd and Drake. “Dan Humphrey wouldn’t know what to do with us,” he laughs.
The band formed two years ago, and Badgley admits that it was a relationship that partly inspired some of the songs. “The catalyst was a breakup,” he says, without mentioning who the ex is (he dated “Gossip Girl” co-star Blake Lively for 2½ years, as well as Zoë Kravitz). “But I was happy to wrench open the wound for the sake of exploring creatively. I thought, ‘OK, let’s use this like rocket fuel!’”
Badgley also took time to make sure his live performances were up to scratch. “A couple of years ago, I was not the frontman I wanted to be. The music is very intimate on record, but I had to make sure that when we play live, I’m more commanding.”
Badgley admits that there will be sneering at the sight of an actor trying his hand at music (“I’m the first to roll my eyes at that,” he laughs), but in Mothxr, responsibility for success or failure is shared. “If you think it’s bad, talk to the three other guys. If you think it’s good, talk to them, too!”