Cardi B, Penn Badgley, and Netflix Interact on Twitter
- Cardi B and Penn Badgley changed their Twitter profile pictures to images of each other.
- It happened after Cardi B learned that Badgley had praised her social media use in 2019.
- The official Netflix account called for Cardi B to appear in its Badgley-fronted series “You.”
Over the past several days, Cardi B, actor Penn Badgley, and the official
Netflix
account have woven a complicated social media web around “You” season 3. What started as Badgley mentioning the rapper in a 2019 interview has escalated into the stars changing their profile pictures to images of each other.
Badgley stars in Netflix’s “You” as Joe Goldberg, a serial killer who is wont to fall into toxic obsessions with young women. The series’ third season premiered on Netflix on October 15 — and according to Cardi B’s tweets, the rapper may make an appearance in a subsequent season.
Here’s how Badgley, Cardi B, and Netflix became intertwined on Twitter.
Penn Badgley shouted out Cardi B in a 2019 interview
This social media saga actually started two years ago while Badgley and his “You” co-star Shay Mitchell were doing press for the show’s second season. In a clip uploaded by the Philippines-based music outlet MYX Global in January 2019, Badgley named Cardi B as someone who has a good relationship with social media.
“I really appreciate people who have this sort of totally like, just second-nature relationship to [social media],” Badgley said in the clip.
—MYX Global (@myxglobal) January 15, 2019
“Cardi B is a great example of that. She has such an authentic relationship, you know? It’s this incredibly nuanced place to be,” Badgley continued. “I feel like she has an incredibly authentic relationship to that, and that’s why people like her so much.”
Cardi B currently has around 19.4 million followers on Twitter, where she frequently tweets candidly and interacts with other users and fan accounts.
Cardi B responded 2 years later after a fan reposted the clip to Twitter
That clip doesn’t appear to have come to Cardi B’s attention until this month, just days after the third season of “You” hit Netflix on October 15.
“OOOOMMFFFGGGGGG HE KNOWS ME !!!” Cardi B wrote in an October 17 tweet, quote-retweeting a fan who resurfaced the clip. “OMMMGGGG!!!!!! Yoooo like I’m famous famous.”
—iamcardib (@iamcardib) October 17, 2021
Badgley responded.
“I-” he wrote in an October 19 tweet.
—Penn Badgley (@PennBadgley) October 19, 2021
The pair then changed their profile pictures on Twitter to images of each other
BuzzFeed reported that, in the wake of Badgley’s tweet, he changed his Twitter profile picture to an image of Cardi B with blue hair. As of Tuesday, that image is still in place as the avatar for his verified account.
@PennBadgley/Twitter
On October 20, Cardi B posted a video seemingly in response to Badgley changing his profile picture. It shows a young child leaning into the camera and asking, “is that me?”
—iamcardib (@iamcardib) October 20, 2021
She also responded in kind, changing her profile picture to an image of Badgley staring forlornly out of a window.
@iamcardib/Twitter
Netflix’s main Twitter account eventually got in on the moment as well
At some point after the stars changed their profile pictures on Twitter, the official Netflix account changed its bio to, “Petition to get Cardi B to guest star in Season 4 of You.” As USA Today reported, a Change.org petition to get the star to appear in the show has amassed approximately 800 signatures.
Cardi B later engaged directly with the official @Netflix account, proposing a scenario for her involvement in the show.
“So it’s episode 1 and I’m at Paris Fashion week shutting it down! I turn around and there stands YOU,” the rapper tweeted on October 21. “Ok finish it off @netflix.”
The tweet was accompanied by a screenshot of Netflix’s main account. And eventually, the streaming platform responded, attaching images of Badgley in “You” to lyrics from Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s 2020 single “WAP.”
—Netflix (@netflix) October 22, 2021
—Netflix (@netflix) October 22, 2021
Badgley spoke about his friendship with Cardi B on Jimmy Kimmel Live
Badgley opened up about the series of interactions with Cardi B on Monday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
“This is a thing that we have now, me and Cardi,” Badgley said, laughing slightly, during the interview when Kimmel asked about their swapped profile pictures.
Badgley said that while he doesn’t know whether or not Cardi B will appear on the show, he referenced the Change.org petition to secure her a guest star spot on its fourth season.
“Changing the world, you know?” the actor said during the interview.
Cardi B, Badgley, and Netflix did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.
