Jenny Humphrey was a key member of the Gossip Girl cast for the first 4 seasons. She was the obvious heir of the one and only Blair Waldorf. Taylor Momsen unexpectedly quit the successful CW series in the middle of the 4th season. She made one final appearance in the series finale.
Why did Taylor leave Gossip Girl? The 30-year-old actress and singer talked about her unexpected exit from Gossip Girl in a podcast interview with Penn Badgley, who portrayed her onscreen brother.
Taylor was a series regular on Gossip Girl for the first four seasons before leaving the show. Taylor addressed what led to her departure from Gossip Girl in her Podcrushed interview with Penn.
“It was a childhood thing that I got put into at two years old. I wasn’t making my own choices then,” Taylor stated about acting. She added, “Literally, as soon as I got to an age where I could make my own decisions, it was like a click… I woke up one morning and went, ‘Wait a second. I don’t have to do this? I don’t have to do this other job? I can just play in my band and tour and write songs? I can just do that?’ Granted, a little more complicated to get out of a television show than that, but the answer was yes.”
Taylor said she uprooted and changed her life overnight by leaving the show. She told the Gossip Girl team about her plans and everyone was very supportive. “They went, ‘Well, we can’t let you out of your deal, but we can write you out of the show, so you can go on tour,’” Taylor said. “They really allowed me to follow my dream, and I’m forever grateful and thankful to them for that.”