When Taylor Momsen and her character Jenny Humpries left Gossip Girl I was devastated. Like many very young, smokey-eye enthusiasts, I was obsessed with Jenny’s transformation from a little dweeb into a fully-fledged powerful hottie. And as I watched Gossip Girl after school, my impressionable Year Seven eyes thought that maybe, just maybe, if I chucked on enough eyeliner like Taylor Momsen, I’d transform from a chubby 5’3 girlie pop with frizzy-ass hair into the cool, chic vibes that Momsen oozed.
Obviously, that didn’t happen but we were all delulu in Year Seven, no? Anyway, the reason I bring it up is because we finally know why Taylor decided to leave Gossip Girl in 2011.
On Wednesday, Taylor was a guest on her former co-star Penn Badgley‘s podcast Podcrushed, which reflects on people’s varying experiences of middle school, or high school. It was the first time these two sat down for a chat in over ten years and it honestly feels like two old buds having a chinwag.
So fkn sweet.
In the episode, Taylor explained to Penn and his co-hosts Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari that she just decided she didn’t want to act anymore.
“[Acting] was a childhood thing that I got put into when I was 2 years old. I wasn’t making my own choices then. And literally, as soon as I got to an age where I could make my own decision—it was like a click. I woke up one morning and went, ‘Wait a second. I don’t have to do this. I can just play in my band, and tour, and write songs. I can just do that’.”
“I have the ability to create and live my life the way I want to live it. I don’t know exactly what made that click, but it was like a light bulb went off. And I uprooted and kind of changed my life overnight,” she told the pod.
The thing is, although Taylor started acting at a super young age, and people think of her as an actor-turned-musician, she says that music has always been her driving passion. She’s been the leading gal of a band called The Pretty Reckless since 2009 and let me tell ya, they still slap.
I haven’t listened to this song since it was released and somehow, my emo ass still remembers every word. God bless.
Once she made the realisation that she didn’t want to act anymore, she explained that she struck a deal with the network to write her character out of the show.
“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. You can’t act in anything else, though.’”
Thankfully she had no intention of finding another acting gig. Once she was written out of the show, she was able to go on tour with her band and fully pursue her music career.
“They really allowed me to follow my dream, and so I’m forever grateful and thankful to them,” she added.
Personally, I love this admission because I remember when she left the show and started touring with The Pretty Reckless and she copped so much shit from the media. People couldn’t believe that this child actor who’d played Cindy Lou Who In The Grinch had decided to front a rock band, and she received so much flack for it. It feels vindicating to know that she’s still thriving and living her best authentic musician life.
The Podcrushed episode with Taylor is definitely worth a listen. You can hear it on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, or watch it on YouTube when it premieres.
