Taylor Momsen finally addresses abrupt Gossip Girl exit

❘ Published: 2023-09-06T16:56:05

Penn Badgley and Taylor Momsen in Gossip Girl

The CW

Taylor Momsen, who played Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl, has finally addressed her abrupt exit from the series.

If you were a teen or young adult in the early 2000s, then there’s no doubt you were an avid fan of The CW‘s iconic series Gossip Girl.

The series, which ran from September 2007 to December 2012, followed a group of Manhattan’s wealthiest teenagers as they went through issues such as falling in love, substance abuse, and public humilation.

However, one of the most intriguing characters on the show wasn’t one of the elites; it was a teenage girl from Brooklyn named Jenny Humphrey, who was played by Taylor Momsen. Though Jenny was a series regular, she abruptly left the show – and now Momsen has revealed why.

Taylor Momsen reveals why she left Gossip Girl

Momsen recently appeared on an episode of the postcast Podcrushed prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike. The podcast is hosted by Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari, as well as Penn Badgley, who played Momsen’s older brother Dan on Gossip Girl.

This was the first time the two Gossip Girl alumni had reunited since filming the series’ finale in 2012 and, to mark the occasion, Badgley gave Momsen the space to explain why her character left the show in the fourth season.

Momsen, who was 12 years old when the pilot was filmed, explained that “larger powers than me came down and went, ‘This is a great opportunity,'” even though she was starting to focus more on music at the time.

The actress-turned-singer went on to say, “[Acting] was a childhood thing that I got put into at two years old. I wasn’t making my own choices then. Literally, as soon as I got to an age where I could make my own decisions, it was like a click.

“I woke up one morning and went, ‘Wait a second. I don’t have to do this? I don’t have to do this other job? I can just play in my band and tour and write songs? I can just do that?’ Granted, a little more complicated to get out of a television show than that, but the answer was yes.”

Momsen then revealed that she “uprooted and changed my life overnight” with the help of the Gossip Girl team. Though there were reports that she was difficult on set and that’s why she left the show, Momsen said that the Gossip Girl crew accepted her decision to do music and worked with her to let her follow her passion.

“They went, ‘Well, we can’t let you out of your deal, but we can write you out of the show, so you can go on tour,’” Momsen said. “They really allowed me to follow my dream, and I’m forever grateful and thankful to them for that.”

Momsen hasn’t acted since Gossip Girl, but has been the lead singer of the punk rock band The Pretty Reckless since 2009.

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