“I’m his like illegitimate child?!”—When Penn Badgley recalled Blake Lively’s prank, making him believe Steven Tyler was his dad

Penn Badgley's breakout role was Dan Humphrey in the teen drama series Gossip Girl that aired from 2007 to 2012. The romantic lead role made him an overnight sensation along with his co-stars Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Ed Westwick, Taylor Momsen, and Chace Crawford.

Penn and Blake Lively began dating in 2007, while playing a romantic couple on the CW series and broke up in 2010, according to People Magazine.

In addition to acting, Penn has also co-hosted the Podcrushed podcast along with Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari since 2022. The trio has interviewed celebrities like Riley Keough, Eddie Redmayne, Kelly Clarkson, Chase Stokes, Demi Lovato, and Lamorne Morris, to name a few.

In an episode of Podcrushed that aired on May 23, 2024, Penn told listeners about Blake Lively's love for pulling pranks. He recounted a past incident when Blake tricked him into thinking he was the biological son of the legendary rock musician, Steven Tyler. He recalled how he reacted to the rumors:

"Steve Tyler of Aerosmith thinks that I’m his like illegitimate child?! What am I gonna do, talk to Steve Tyler?"

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All the details about Blake Lively's prank on Penn Badgley

Penn Badgley as seen in an Instagram picture from September 2023 (Image via Instagram/@pennbadgley)

Penn Badgley revealed in the podcast episode that the prank started with an email from his team notifying him of his supposed connection to Steven Tyler, the lead singer and frontman of Aerosmith.

"I get an email, just like, 'There’s this press item that we’re trying to kill, but just so you know, somebody thinks or Steve Tyler thinks he’s your dad.'"

At first, the Easy A actor dismissed the rumors as ludicrous, but he began having second thoughts after his publicist and manager informed him that Tyler was convinced he was his dad. The prank apparently went on for a long time, during which, Blake managed to get Penn's mother, Lynne Murphy, in on the prank as well.

He shared during the podcast that the Green Lantern actress encouraged him to speak to his mother regarding his paternity on April Fool's Day. During their phone conversation, his mother hinted at the rumors being true by saying, "Why do you think we moved out of Maryland?," to a stunned Badgley.

The Maryland native admitted to feeling excited at the thought of being Steven Tyler's son and began pondering what it could mean for his future. But his excitement was cut short when he looked at Blake Lively momentarily and she blurted out, "Ah, f------ April Fools" while laughing.

As of this writing, Badgley tied the knot with singer Domino Kirke, and Blake Lively is married to actor Ryan Reynolds.

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Penn Badgley's last acting appearance was in You in 2023

Penn Badgley is currently known for playing an anti-hero in the Netflix series, You. The psychological thriller series, developed by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, debuted its first season on October 13, 2021. Badgley plays a bookstore manager, Joe Goldberg, who is an obsessive stalker and serial killer in the series.

Netflix released the show's latest season in two parts, consisting of five episodes each. Part 1 of season 4 dropped on February 9, 2023, and Part 2 aired on March 9, 2023. In this installment, Joe travels to London in search of a new beginning and falls in love with Kate Lockwood while searching for the Eat-the-Rich killer.

Penn Badgley's co-stars inYou season 4 include Tati Gabrielle, Charlotte Ritchie, Tilly Keeper, Amy-Leigh Hickman, Ed Speleers, and Lukas Gage, among others. Season 5 is likely to release in 2025.

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