Back in 2007, when Gossip Girl came out, the CW's hit teen series were all about drama. However, fans were surprised by a surprise announcement that also hinted at the behind-the-scenes drama:
After barely appearing in Season 4 of the show, lead actor Taylor Momsen will not be returning to the show. At the time, it was rumored that Momsen was having "difficulties" on set, but when it came to an appearance on the Penn Badgley (You) Podcrushed podcast, which was filmed earlier this year, the actor and singer hinted about the fact that he was shocked to leave the hit series.
On the show, Momsen plays Jenny Humphrey, the sister of Badgley's character, Dan Humphrey. As the youngest of the cast, Jenny has one of the most interesting storylines on the show:
A poor girl but also a fashionista with a keen sense of fashion design. She begins to mature and work her way up in the fashion world (and falls into a number of industry traps), but her character's journey is cut short when Momsen decides she doesn't want to act anymore.
In the podcast, the actor revealed that his acting career really wasn't decided by him and that it started at a very young age. Her breakthrough role was in How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 2000, when she was 7 years old and at the time of filming pilot Gossip Girl, she was in her teens. Momsen explained how pressured she was to take on the role of Jenny and that "greater powers" told her that the CW series was a great opportunity she couldn't afford to miss:
“It was a childhood story that I experienced when I was two years old. I didn't make my own choices at the time. Literally, as soon as I reached the age where I could make my own decisions, it just happened…I woke up one morning and I said, “Wait a minute. I don't have to do this? I don't have to do this other job? Can I just play in my band, go on tour and write songs? Can I do this? Admittedly, getting out of a TV show is a bit more complicated than that, but the answer is yes."
Trauma and loss also caused Momsen to give up her acting career.
Momsen went on to reveal that series creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage supported his decision and helped free up his schedule by removing Jenny from the show for the actor to switch to a singer. could tour with his band The Pretty Reckless. Momsen ended up only appearing in four episodes of Gossip Girl's 22 season 4. She didn't return for the series finale until two years later. The actor also revealed that she wasn't at her best after the death of her best friend, which pushed her into a "black hole of depression and addiction, and all of that." accompanied by death, loss, and trauma."
Gossip Girl ran for six seasons on The CW and stars Blake Lively (The Shallows), Leighton Meester (Single Parents), Chace Crawford (The Boys), Ed Westwick (White Gold), Kelly Rutherford (Dynasty) , Matthew Settle (Ouija) . and Jessica Szohr (The Orville). Kirsten Bell (The Good Place) plays the title character, an entity-like figure who has a vision across New York's Upper East Side and has a blog about their scandalous lives. The final episode finally reveals who Gossip Girl is - a revelation that makes no sense to the story.
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