Shay Mitchell Has A Warning For Those Romanticizing You's Joe Stans

If you haven't heard, because you're understandably still riding the Marie Kondo wave, there's actually another show that's getting lots of buzz: the psychological thriller You. The new-to-Neflix series, which premiered on Lifetime in September 2018, has been trending on social media after its debut on the digital streaming service this month. Many viewers have been romanticizing Penn Badgley's stalker character Joe Goldberg, which has made Badgley a new Twitter hero as he calls out fans' problematic fascination. And he's not alone, co-star Shay Mitchell, who plays Peach Salinger, has similar thoughts.

"You can romanticize elements of his character, but if you romanticize his entire outlook on life, then that might be an issue," the actress told Refinery29 in a phone interview for her makeup collaboration with Buxom. "I can see it, when somebody really cares a lot [and] they just look into certain aspects of your life, but I do think there is a fine line with that.

Lucky for Mitchell, she doesn't have to keep fans in check like her co-star Badgley, as her character has won viewers' hearts — but for the right reasons. As one Twitter user put it: "Peach is goals." And this positive reception didn't come as a surprise for the Pretty Little Liars star. "She is sassy, but at the same time, there is a heart in there deep down," Mitchell said. "People can see the different layers that the character has, and she sort of rounded out the rest of the storyline."

This is Mitchell's second LGBTQ+-identifying role, but although she finds representation to be important, the actress sets the record straight on why it should be less of a taboo. "The funny thing is people don't say, 'Oh my God, you're playing another straight character,' and that's never a question or something that's talked about," she remarked of actors playing straight roles. "I didn't choose the role because it was another character that was kissing a girl. With this [project], it was really just the character that I was enjoying getting to play, regardless of who she was making out with. That was not even a thought. But hey, Elizabeth [Lail] is great, and it was fun."

The show was renewed for a second season, but will be airing on Netflix the next time around. Although we know she won't be returning as a cast member for the rest of the story, Shay aka Peach will definitely be missed. But following her role on the creepy series, where we also learned the value of owning curtains, Mitchell leaves us with one solid piece of advice: "I don't ever post where I am, and I think everybody should be careful about when they're posting [on social media]." she encouraged. "I don't think anyone should ever post when they're at a certain location, whether you're in the limelight or not." Noted.