Penn Badgley Lifts the Veil on Fame in New Essay Collection "Crushmore"

On November 17, 2025, Penn Badgley, the 39-year-old actor, spoke about his new essay collection "Crushmore: Essays on Love, Loss and Coming-of-Age" on the Totally Booked with Zibby podcast. The book, co-written with his Podcrushed podcast cohosts Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari, follows the trio's experiences coming of age.

Badgley revealed that he wrote about his own experiences with fame to provide a more transparent and nuanced look at the realities of celebrity. He believes that fame is not just a part of a celebrity's life, but a significant aspect of everyone's lives in today's culture, which is "inextricably, undeniably entangled and obsessed with celebrity."

The actor noted that fame has impacted his life in various ways, from being a father to his faith as a Baha'i, which he embraced in his late 20s. Badgley hopes that by sharing his personal experiences, he can give readers a better understanding of the "weirdness of celebrity" and how it can "cloud the vision of the person suffering under it."

The essay collection aims to explore the universal themes of love, loss, and coming-of-age, with Badgley and his co-authors hoping to provide a more comprehensive perspective on these experiences.