Penn Badgley Clears the Air Over Bizarre Rumor—’I Feel Weird Saying That’

You star Penn Badgley shut down a bizarre rumor about his son during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

The Context

Badgley, 38, is currently expecting identical twin boys with his wife, Domino Kirke, 41. The couple are already parents to a son, 4—whose name has not been disclosed—and Kirke’s son Cassius, 16, from a previous relationship with musician Morgan O’Kane.

What To Know

On Thursday’s episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, host Jimmy Fallon acknowledged that while Badgley likes to keep his “private life private,” he understood that there was something the actor wanted to address.

“Yeah,” the Gossip Girl star said, before warning the audience that what he was about to say was “very weird.”

“Our littlest, who is 4,” Badgley said of his son, “His name is not James.”

Newsweek reached out to Badgley’s representative via email for comment.

“So, the internet, on Wikipedia for many years, his name was James. And we’d get it removed, it would go back. His name is not James!” the Podcrushed podcast host explained. “You know, I feel weird saying that, but I just thought, ‘Well, you know what? I have a platform. Why not clear the air?'”

Badgley added that “people close to the family” whom they hadn’t seen in a while would send cards “to all of us and James,” which is why he felt like it was the right time to squash the rumor.

The Maryland native noted that while the name James is “great,” his son’s actual moniker “will remain undisclosed for as long as we can.”

Kirke first announced the couple was expanding their family in February. “Babies #3 and #4 coming this Summer! Talk about a PLOT TWIST!” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “Spontaneous twins are beyond magical. We are stunned. We are in awe. Can’t think of anyone else I’d rather be on this ride with @pennbadgley 👶♥️👶🎢.”

Badgley told Fallon that it’s “thrilling” having multiples on the way.

“It’s such a nice dose of reality,” he said. “Every time I see the sonogram, it just is like, it feels so good.”

What People Are Saying

A clip of Badgley’s Tonight Show appearance was posted to YouTube, and fans praised his exchange with Fallon.

YouTube user @lashendawest7509 wrote: “We love penn badgley and jimmy fallon.”

@clarie8486 said: “Penn is so well spoken i love him!”

@liveesunflower agreed: “I just love Penn ❤.”

@rosa_stars349 added of his You performance in a comment with 160 likes: “He deserves that emmy with this finale. his acting was brilliant.”

What Happens Next

The final season of You, Season 5, premiered on Netflix on April 24 and is currently available to stream on the platform. The serial killer thriller reached 10.1 million viewers in its first four days, per Variety, and according to Jimmy Fallon, is currently “number one on Netflix.”