Taylor Momsen had a tough time with Warner Bros. when she wanted to leave *Gossip Girl* during its fourth season. The studio called her ungrateful for wanting to pursue her music career. In a recent podcast interview, she shared her experience with host Alex Cooper.
“It was a long battle,” Momsen said. “I kept arguing, ‘Get me outta this. I can’t do this anymore. This is killing me.’ I wanted to do something else with my life, and I couldn’t be stuck there.” She played Jenny Humphrey on the CW show from 2007 to 2010, starting when she was just 13.
The studio executives told her she was walking away from success. Momsen pushed back, saying, “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re not in my shoes, so how dare you judge this?” The head of Warner Bros. refused to let her out of her contract. By the end of season three, she felt exhausted from juggling filming and her band, The Pretty Reckless.
Eventually, showrunners Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz agreed to write her character off the show, and Momsen credits them for that decision. Her castmates were surprised by her exit. They knew she was making music but didn’t realize how serious she was about leaving. Although she was still under contract, she couldn’t take on other acting roles, which actually helped her focus on music.
Momsen returned for the series finale in 2012. Since then, The Pretty Reckless has released four albums, including a holiday EP titled *Taylor Momsen’s Pretty Reckless Christmas* on October 31. The band will hit the road with AC/DC starting February 24.
