In 2010, Taylor Momsen was 17 years old and had been working for 15 of those. After roles in the movies How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Spy Kids 2, she was starring as Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl. But, her character was getting less and less screentime, and she'd soon be written off of the show amid talk that she was difficult to work with. This was the situation at hand when the actor was interviewed by Revolver magazine and implied that her parents were to blame for why she was so "miserable" on the show's set.
In the years since, Momsen has moved on to a new career that she much prefers to acting. And soon after that interview came out, she clarified her remarks about her parents and her career. Read on to see what Momsen had to say and to find out what she's doing now.
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Momsen addressed rumors about her behavior.
In November 2010, Momsen was interviewed by Revolver during the fourth season of Gossip Girl. This was just before it was announced that she would be going on a hiatus from the teen drama. There were rumors that she was unprofessional, and guest star Tim Gunn spoke out about her on-set behavior, as reported by Deadline.
"Everyone's like, 'Wow, why is she upset, and why is she so miserable about things?'" Momsen told Revolver (via TV Guide). "My parents signed me up with Ford [Modeling] at the age of two. No two-year-old wants to be working, but I had no choice."
She added, "My whole life, I was in and out of school. I didn't have friends. I was working constantly and I didn't have a real life."
She clarified later that she loves her parents.
A few months later, in a January 2011 interview with Kerrang, Momsen clarified her words from the previous interview.
"I love my mom and dad. Maybe I didn't have the childhood people think you should have, but I still went through the ages," she said (via Us Weekly). "I was still a child. Maybe it wasn't a conventional one, but you know… I like where I am now, so it's OK. I think my parents have learned by this point that none of [what they read] is probably true, and words can be put in your mouth."
She added that she tried not to pay much attention to what was being said about her in the press. "[Fame] is just high school on a massive, massive scale," Momsen said. "So I ignore what people say and focus on my music and doing what I do."
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She started a new career.
When she was still on Gossip Girl, Humphrey founded her metal band, The Pretty Reckless. So, she wasn't just "miserable" on set because she had felt forced into an acting career at a young age—she was also ready to move on and do her own thing.
"It was hard at a certain point to write for the old Jenny; we had to write for the new Taylor," Gossip Girl showrunner Joshua Safransaid in a 2017 interview with Vulture. "Taylor wanted her hair a certain way because she was in the band and that was who she was, so we couldn't dye Taylor's hair to be Jenny every day, especially when she had events where she had to be Taylor for the weekend. So Jenny had to change."
She didn't look back.
Momsen is still performing with The Pretty Reckless today, and they band has released four studio albums. She never went back to acting either—Gossip Girl was her last role.
In 2021, she told People, "Acting was a job that I enjoyed. But I was never in love with it. With music, I wouldn't know who I am without it. When I got to an age where I could make my own decisions, I quit all my other jobs to just focus on music."
Momsen also reflected on how she was perceived around the time she left Gossip Girl. "I was a little wild," she told the magazine. "But I don't think I was the [expletive] that everyone made me out to be. I was young, and I was going through my rebellious teenage years."
