Why Hollywood Won’t Cast Taylor Momsen Anymore
Why Hollywood Won’t Cast Taylor Momsen Anymore
From starring along inside Jim Carrey in the live-action version of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas to holding her own next to Blake Lively in the CW hit Gossip Girl, Taylor Momsen was on her way to becoming
a Hollywood A-lister. A talented actor from such a young age, it
seemed like Momsen’s success on-screen was assured. But she suddenly left it all behind to become a rock star. Was it by choice? Or was she forced out of acting?
Here’s a look at why Hollywood won’t cast Taylor Momsen anymore. She burned out early Most 17-year-olds are worried about finding
a part-time job, but at 17, Momsen had already been working as a full-time actor for 15 years. According to Star Pulse, she blamed her parents
for pushing her into the industry. “Everyone’s like, ‘Wow, why is she upset,
and why is she so miserable about things?’ … My parents signed me up with Ford Modeling Agency at the age of 2.
No 2-year-old wants to be working, but I had no choice.” In 2011, Momsen told Entertainment Weekly she had decided to quit acting entirely to focus on her music career. Breakout role branded her As little blonde-haired, blue-eyed Cindy Lou in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Momsen was the epitome of innocence and all that is good and right with the world during Christmastime. The role labeled the then seven-year-old Momsen
as America’s sweetheart and a good girl who could do no wrong.
She went on to cement that reputation with roles like the daughter of the President of the United States in Spy Kids 2. So it seemed like the perfect fit when, in 2007, Momsen was cast as sweet girl-next-door Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl. However, as Momsen got older and started becoming a bad girl back stage, that attitude adjustment spilled over onto the screen as well. Audiences may not have been thrilled with her attempt to break out of typecasting, making Little J just a side note instead of a main character.
Gossip girl, bad behavior Fan disapproval of the new Little J apparently
wasn’t the only reason Momsen was written off of Gossip Girl. According to reports from Deadline, her air time was also reduced because of her on-set antics. Tim Gunn, best known as the mentor on Project Runway, told E! News that she was a nightmare to work with when he guest starred on Gossip
Girl, saying “What a diva. She was pathetic, she couldn’t remember her
lines, and she didn’t even have that many. I thought to myself, ‘why are we being held hostage by this brat?” Momsen told George Lopez that the whole thing’s been taken out of context. “I’m amazed because it’s what I say, and then they take out words and make it sound like a negative statement.” “It inspires you!” “I hope everyone knows that it’s not actually real.” Regardless of whether it’s true or not, though, she now has a reputation as being difficult to work with — which is a label nobody in Hollywood wants.
Lack of credits Momsen’s music resume is pretty stellar at this point, but while she originally gained fame as an actress, her acting resume actually
isn’t that great. Her debut movie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas,
remains by far her biggest film role, and beyond Gossip Girl, her TV credits are practically nonexistent. She did make a pilot that never aired, and
was at one point up for the role of Hannah Montana — before it went to Miley Cyrus.
But what ifs and near misses like those make up the bulk of her acting career. Will she turn it around? They say that absence makes the heart grow
fonder. While Momsen may have burned her bridges during a difficult adolescence, now that she’s matured into an actual rock star, it’s possible that there may be new opportunities in Hollywood for Momsen if she ever decides to go back to acting. But as her past shows, if she’s going to be
successful at acting, she has to actually want to do it. Of course, it’s possible that music was the way to go for Momsen from the start. Way back in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Momsen was already stealing scenes with her voice, singing “Where Are You Christmas.” “Where are you, Christmas? Do you remember?” That was just a preview of things to come. With her current band, The Pretty Reckless, Momsen is tearing up the music charts.
According to Billboard, she’s the first woman to land three consecutive number one hits on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart, something
even legends like Joan Jett and Stevie Nicks never accomplished. Who needs Hollywood? Rock on!
