The Condition Taylor Momsen Had to Accept to Leave ‘Gossip Girl’

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We all knew that Taylor Momsen had made a fresh start after leaving Gossip Girl. You only need to look at the few times the actress who brought Jenny Humphrey to life in the series that took over in the late 2000s talks about this format to realize that she has no regrets about leaving acting behind to focus on music, her true passion and the career she has been pursuing since she exited the show created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage in 2011.

However, the now singer has decided to make an exception. As a guest on the latest episode of the SiriusXM podcast Podcrushed, where she collaborated with actor Penn Badgley, with whom she worked on Gossip Girl, the hard rock singer explained that when she wanted to leave the series that catapulted her to fame, she had to accept the conditions imposed by the production.

After filming the first three seasons, one day, she suddenly realized she didn’t want to continue working on things that weren’t her true passion.

«Literally, as soon as I reached an age where I could make my own decisions, it was like a click… I woke up one morning and said, ‘Wait a second. Do I have to do this? Do I have to do this other job? Can I just play in my band, tour, and write songs? Can I just do that?'» Momsen explained.

The artist admitted that it was a bit more difficult than just waking up one day and ending it all. However, the decision was quick. «The answer was yes. You can do that. I have the ability to create my life the way I want to live it. It was like a light bulb went off,» she added.

The Condition They Set for Her to Leave Gossip Girl

Momsen has confessed that to leave her job on Gossip Girl, the producers of the series set a condition: she couldn’t act in another series while her contract was active. «I uprooted myself and changed my life overnight,» she said, before adding that the production team told her they couldn’t let her break her contract but would agree to write her out of the series so she could go on tour as long as she didn’t act in anything else.

Momsen willingly accepted this condition, and to this day, she has no regrets, even though it prevented her from acting in other formats for two years. «They actually allowed me to follow my dream, and I will always be grateful for that,» she emphasized, stating that she feels «good» about everything that happened.

Achieving Success with The Pretty Reckless

Although Taylor Momsen gave up acting in other series when she left Gossip Girl, it’s not surprising that she believes taking that risk back then was worth it. Since she decided to focus on her band in 2011, the singer has continued to achieve success alongside her colleagues in The Pretty Reckless.

As a group, they have released four studio albums that have positioned them as one of the leading bands in their genre. With The Pretty Reckless, Momsen won the Best Hard Rock Group award at the 2017 Alternative Press Music Awards, the Best Rock Artist of the Year award at the 2021 iHeartRadio Awards, and has been nominated for various other industry and public recognitions. What more could you ask for?