People are romanticising Joe from the Netflix series ‘You’ and it’s not OK

I watched the Netflix series You in the space of a day. The first episode was one of the weirdest and most uncomfortable things I have ever watched but I decided to stick it out. By episode seven, my eyes were bulging out of my head as I quivered in horror behind the duvet and a tin of salt and vinegar Pringles.

There were obvious plot holes (like why doesn’t she ever close her curtains in a ground floor New York City apartment?) but overall, it’s a highly enthralling thriller that keeps you on tenterhooks. It’s an intuitive and alarming look at the world of social media and shows if you choose to put yourself out there, your life will never truly be private. Every haunting secret, ever miserable mistake can be found through the instrument that is called the internet.

However, the defining sentiment that comes from watching You is that Joe. Is. A. Psychopath. 

His every move, his every look gave me shivers. Yes, he had that misunderstood-avid-reader-who-likes-to-write-poetry-and-bake-cakes look about him but his demeanour screamed “stalker alert”. However, there are many on social media who seem to romanticize Joe and even lust after him. Some Twitter users spoke of how they wanted Joe to stalk them, while others spoke of the intense attraction they felt towards him, even though he was a murderer.

On a deeper level, this may be construed as a deeply chilling social psyche, or maybe it’s just that people can’t seem to separate Joe Goldberg from Gossip Girl heartthrob Dan Humphries, who was another misunderstood-writer type who lurked in New York but who was a lot less homicidal in nature.

Thankfully, Penn Badgley, who plays both characters, called out those on those on Twitter who were viewing Joe as a broken and broody heartbreaker they needed to protect them in life, and not a creepy man who had the potential to kill them.

No thx https://twitter.com/malikaplays/status/1083069045161820161

— Penn Badgley (@PennBadgley) January 9, 2019

…of problems, right? https://twitter.com/capricornyyy/status/1083067232056422401

— Penn Badgley (@PennBadgley) January 9, 2019

A: He is a murderer https://twitter.com/nobia_parker/status/1083087768048287747

— Penn Badgley (@PennBadgley) January 9, 2019

Nevertheless, many continued on their weird Joe Goldberg desire filled tirade.

am i the only one who kinda wishes joe goldberg was stalking me #you pic.twitter.com/2zZm03MtZn

— martha (@marfcrosbie) January 1, 2019

Waiting for my joe goldberg………………….???

— rhi (@RhiannonPunch) January 8, 2019

Call me a sadist but I’m low-key hoping there someone like Joe Goldberg out there keeping me safe #You

— Ronil Deshpande (@no1bettahdanme) January 9, 2019

I can’t stop thinking about Joe Goldberg and I think I love him, am I insane

— Nickela Murphy (@NickelaMurphy) January 2, 2019

Thankfully, there were some who had a more logical thought process regarding the character that is Joe Goldberg.

Okay, I have now watched @YouNetflix & read the book it was based on. Both iterations of Joe Goldberg are compelling but deeply disturbing. I don’t understand how people can legitimately find this character & everything he represents to be attractive.

— arya stark ? (@gabpac13) January 10, 2019

But still, there were some who were just too conflicted over their feelings and it is making this entire experience unnerving.

Want a boyfriend with the dedication of Joe Goldberg, but he doesn’t kill people. Thanks

— ciara (@ciaraaacurran) January 6, 2019

Can’t decide is Joe Goldberg is a sociopath or not. They’re incapable of love and he seems to love beck so much. But all his other traits match up. @PennBadgley #you

— ellannabelle (@ellannabelle) January 10, 2019

Please, just make it stop.