Penn Badley detailed his sentiments on receiving massive love from fans after his stint in Gossip Girl.

The You actor  appeared recently on the podcast Baha'i Blogcast with Rainn Wilson. Penn said playing up his fame on social media was like being "caught up in ego and our materialist culture."

"It was not the most fulfilling or meaningful contribution that I could make as an individual seeking to better the world."

 Penn also has personal experience dealing with what he and host Rainn Wilson termed "another disadvantage of our celebrity-obsessed society." 

He said on the podcast that he had an anxiety attack while on a press tour two years ago, when he went to a mall in Manila, Philippines, to meet with fans.

"It was packed with thousands of screaming adults. In all of my years of witnessing some form of adulation, like the fan experience, this one was really over the top. I had an anxiety attack that press trip." Penn revealed, "And I'm not a person who has that. I mean, look, I have anxieties I think. I'm human." He said that time of his life "really was profound."