Penn Badgley reveals ex-GF Blake Lively pranked him into wondering if he was Steven Tyler's son

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Blake Lively is a passionate prankster and her ex-boyfriend Penn Badgley can vouch for it. 

The ‘You’ actor and Lively dated for three years from the start of their show ‘Gossip Girl’ in 2007. The uber-popular show ran on CW for six seasons till 2012 with Badgley essaying the role of Dan Humphrey.

Badgley recently revealed in the latest episode of his ‘Podcrushed’ podcast that during his relationship with ‘The Age of Adaline’ actress, he was surprised by a prank that led him to think the rockstar Steven Tyler was his biological father.

Penn Badgley shares he was pranked by ex-girlfriend Blake Lively

During the latest episode of the podcast, Badgley was asked about the greatest prank he had ever been a victim of. He admitted that although he doesn’t care about them, he does "really admire people who do," per Hello! Magazine.

The ‘Easy A’ star revealed, "Somebody who may or may not be known for this — Blake Lively is, as I recall, very serious about pranks. She pulled a remarkable prank on me. It is crazy."

He recalled that once during his relationship with Lively, he got an email from his PR team cautioning him about a wild speculation regarding the Aerosmith rocker Steven Tyler being his father. 

Badgley recalled the text of the mail, cautioning him, "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." 

‘The Stepfather’ star continued, "I don't remember the phrasing but I remember being like… Didn't even think about it for a moment because who in their right mind would think that that's true."

The 37-year-old actor stated that he later realized that his team of representatives also had parts to play in the elaborate prank. He shared that they made him believe not only was the rumor not “going away” but that Tyler believed Badgley was indeed his child.

The ‘Margin Call’ actor recalled,  "At this point, of course I don't think it's true but it's like, 'How can Steven Tyler believe this? There's no way! You have to be kidding. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith thinks that I'm his illegitimate child?!'”

“What am I gonna do, talk to Steven Tyler? No, my publicist is gonna handle it because what else is gonna happen,” continued Badgley.

Lively not only enlisted the help of his representatives but also the actor’s mother. The ‘Green Lantern’ actress insisted that he call his mother to corroborate the story. 

Badgley added, "My mom is so not an actress, so not a prankster either, and she's upset," before adding, "I'm like, 'Mom why are you upset?!' And then she takes a pause, that is like, the pause that sold me, and she goes, 'Why do you think we moved out of Maryland?'"

The call, however, had him fully invested in the prank. Badgley shared, "I was speechless and my world was rearranging.”

He went ahead to the extent that he started contemplating pursuing a career in music to honor his alleged father. 

"I'd always wanted to play music," Badgley noted before explaining, "I didn't want to exploit the man, I definitely didn't want to do that."

Nevertheless, he ultimately came to his senses when he understood that his call to his mother was placed on April Fool’s Day. 

As an afterthought, the actor added, "Anyone who's in my life and wants to pull a prank on me, go ahead and try, because I will never think about it. I guess I'm trusting, I guess it says something good about me, I just never think that somebody's trying to pull a prank. So [Blake] had that going for her."

Penn Badgley previously praised Blake Lively

This is, however, not the first time that Badgley has reflected on his past relationship with the actress who is now married to Ryan Reynolds. The star, who had to work with Lively for two more years together even after their break up, shared that he didn’t tread onto the dark path of substance abuse because of his relationship.

Earlier in 2023, in an interview with Variety, Badgley was asked whether he ever abused substances.

The ‘Forever Strong’ star revealed, “To be honest, I never struggled with substance,” before adding, “Blake didn’t drink, and I think our relationship in some ways saved me from forcing myself to go down that road.”