Penn Badgley Explains His ‘Tragically Hipster’ Band Name, MOTHXR
Most fans are familiar with Penn Badgley the actor — but it turns out, he’s also in a band. His roles as Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl and Joe Goldberg in You made him famous. However, like many others in show business, the star also has a passion for music. In a 2023 interview, Badgley addressed his side project, acknowledging the name his band chose is “tragically hipster.”
Penn Badgley, the actor, is also in a band
A decade ago, Badgley starred in the movie Greetings From Tim Buckley, and that changed everything. He portrayed the role of cult NYC singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, and, according to The New York Post, this led directly to the formation of his band.
“Gossip Girl was a great opportunity, but it would be misleading to think that anyone on that show doesn’t have anything more to offer,” Badgley said at the time of taking on a new opportunity. “We’re relying on the music to get us exposure, not whatever fumes I have left in the tank from the show. Let’s be real, I was never that famous anyway!”
The Brooklyn-based band also features Jimmy Giannopoulos, Simon Oscroft, and Darren Will, and Cosmopolitan reports that it began as a passion project that evolved into a full-time gig. Their genre is primarily indie pop, and they released their first album, Centerfold, in 2016.”I like to say that this music exists somewhere between D’Angelo and Arthur Russell. It’s true, but it’s also irrelevant. If somebody were to say that independently of us, I’d think, ‘We did it!'”
According to Entertainment Weekly, the frontman doesn’t label himself as an actor or a musician, and over the years, the band had a residency at Lower East Side bar Pianos, in addition to playing in all five boroughs of New York City. They’ve played shows in Vancouver, Paris, and throughout the U.K., though Badgley says that he’s stayed based in New York “because it keeps inspiring me.”
Penn Badgley explains how they landed on the ‘tragically hipster’ band name, MOTHXR
Badgley remains busy with his acting career and his podcast, Podcrushed. But while promoting You Season 4 Part 2, he did the WIRED Autocomplete Interview, and he spoke about his band.
“It’s called MOTHXR, spelled with an ‘X,'” he explained. “Tragically hipster X,” he laughed. However, this wasn’t the original plan for the band’s name. There were “legal reasons,” Badgley shared. “We wanted the ‘E,’ but there are several other ‘MOTHER’s, and one of them served us a cease and desist letter.”
The star told the story of receiving the letter “outside of a show” after performing. Thinking the person asking his name was a fan, Badgley confirmed, only to be handed the legal document. “I was like, ‘Oh, we’re gonna have to change our name.'” Fortunately, this was as easy as a shift in spelling.
Penn Badgley’s own name has a story behind it
Badgley himself has a pretty unique name, and many fans might assume that it is a stage name. However, this is not the case. The moniker is the one that was given to him at birth, and there is actually a pretty funny story behind it. Apparently, Badgley’s parents were deciding what to name him, and his dad was bouncing a Penn tennis ball, the star said on the Why Won’t You Date Me podcast.
His mom made the comment, “I think he’s about the size of that tennis ball right now,” and hilariously, that’s what they decided to call their newborn son.
