'Gossip Girl' alum Taylor Momsen opens up about risky career switch

Taylor Momsen, who starred as Jenny Humphrey in Gossip Girl, had a difficult choice laid before her – between a stable career and her passion for music.

The 32-year-old rockstar left the show after three seasons, but since she was tied to a contract, she had to fight for her decision.

The Pretty Reckless member recalled, “Leaving a career that is so prosperous was not easy. It was an easy decision for me. … To actually get out of a contract was not easy,” during the latest episode of Call Her Daddy podcast.

Momsen shared that she started feeling like “‘I don’t want to do this anymore,’” around season 2, but “you’re in a lock and key contract with CW, Warner Brothers, you know, all of that stuff.”

The Underdog star went on to share that she felt stuck working in the show and wanted to do something else with her life, which was her music career.

Although she had a lot of people criticising her for being ungrateful for leaving a successful career behind, she turned “very defensive,” Momsen noted, and kept fighting.

When she couldn’t work around the contract, Momsen tried her luck talking to the executive producers on the show, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage.

The producers heard her out and ultimately wrote her off the show, which she remembers fondly. “I really have to credit them for doing that for me, because they did not have to. They wrote me out of the show so I could go on tour and be in a band.”

Since making the career switch, Momsen has never regretted her decision and continues to find solace in music.