Leighton Meester & Penn Badgley: Kiss Kiss!

Leighton Meester and Penn Badgley share a sweet kiss for a scene from Gossip Girl on Monday (February 6) on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of the cast of Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl co-creator Josh Schwartz recently reflected on casting Leighton in a feature for THR.

“Leighton was a blonde when she came in to read, but [co-star] Blake [Lively] was the blonde, so we asked her to color her hair. A risky move on her part in the middle of pilot season, but she did a sink-rinse dye job to audition as a brunette,” Josh dished.