Taylor Momsen Reveals The Complicated Choice That Led To Her Gossip Girl Departure

Little J has a lot of secrets to spill!

Instagram/@taylormomsen

Hey there, Upper East Siders, it seems little J is spilling all of her secrets without the help of little old me.

If you’re like us, and love a 2000s TV show, chances are you’ve tuned into Gossip Girl on more than one occasion.

The beloved series followed a group of teenagers as they navigated life as Manhattan’s elite , dealing with issues like substance abuse, love, grief and friendship throughout its five year tenure.

The Humphrey family were a huge contrast to the rich elitist Manhattanites they went to school with, making them all the more interesting and relatable to the general viewer. Jenny Humphrey, played by Taylor Momsen, was a Brooklyn girl dreaming of becoming friends with her private school peers.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Taylor Momsen (@taylormomsen)

Although she was a series regular throughout the series, the character made an abrupt exit prior to the final season, with no explanation as to why. But now a decade after the show wrapped, Taylor Momsen has finally revealed why she ceased playing Jenny.

Taylor sat down with the hosts of the Podcrushed podcast, Nava Kavelin, Sophie Ansari and Penn Badgley to chat all about life, music and what exactly happened to Jenny. Penn and Taylor played the Humphrey siblings on the show and this was the first time since filming the series finale in 2012 that the pair had reunited.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Pretty Reckless (@theprettyreckless)

Taylor explained that she was 12 years old when she started filming for the Gossip Girl pilot and even though she wanted to focus on music, “larger powers than me came down and went, ‘This is a great opportunity,’.”

The front woman for The Pretty Reckless continued saying: “[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.”

She later added: “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.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by PODCRUSHED (@podcrushed)

Taylor then revealed that there is zero bad blood between her and the Gossip Girl execs, they were in fact the ones who helped her on her way to making her dream come true.

She said: “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,’. They really allowed me to follow my dream, and I’m forever grateful and thankful to them for that.”

You know you love me xoxo

• Dan Humphrey
• Gossip Girl
• Jenny Humphrey
• Penn Badgeley
• Taylor Momsen
• The Pretty Reckless