Taylor Momsen says Gossip Girl was "killing" her before she quit the show mid-season

6 November 2025, 15:03

By Sam Prance

Why did Taylor Momson leave Gossip Girl? Here's what she's said about the truth behind her abrupt exit in season 4.

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Taylor Momsen has opened up about quitting Gossip Girl and why she really left the show before her contract was up.

It's impossible to imagine Gossip Girl without Taylor Momsen. As soon as the show debuted on The CW in 2007, fans became obsessed with Taylor's depiction of aspiring teen fashion designer Jenny Humphrey. Despite being a main cast member though, Taylor left the hit TV show after appearing in just four episodes of Gossip Girl season 4.

Now, Taylor has disclosed that playing the role was "killing" her in a brand new tell-all interview with Call Her Daddy.

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Taylor Momsen quit Gossip Girl in season 4. Picture: Alamy

Talking to Alex Cooper about her Gossip Girl exit, Taylor said: "It was an easy decision for me. To actually get [out of] a contract was not easy. It was a very long battle of me arguing [with] everyone and going, ‘Get me outta this. I can’t do this anymore. This is killing me. I have something else I want to do with my life. I can’t be stuck here anymore."

At the time, Taylor had recorded her debut album with The Pretty Reckless and wanted to focus on her music career instead of acting: "They all knew I was making music. They all knew I had a band. I would play them stuff because I was working on the first record...but I don’t think anyone knew how serious I was at that stage.”

However, the network and Warner Bros. Television called Taylor "ungrateful" for trying to leave.

Taylor explained: "I just went, ‘F--- you. You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re not in my shoes, so how dare you judge this?' I was very defensive, but it came down to they wouldn’t let me outta the contract."

She added: "The head of Warner Bros. said, ‘F*** Taylor Momsen. No f***ing way.'"

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Nevertheless, Gossip Girl creators Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz agreed to write Taylor out of the show. As a result, she was able to leave the show four episodes into season 4 despite still being listed as a main cast member.

She said: "So I really have to credit them for doing that for me ’cause they did not have to, and they wrote me out of the show so I could go on tour and be in a band." Since Gossip Girl, Taylor has focused on music instead of acting.

Ultimately, Taylor returned in the season 6 finale out of loyalty to the fans: "As a fan of television and a fan of the shows, I love when you have the full cast together again. You want to full-circle that and round it out.”