Neilson Barnard/Getty ImagesTaylor Momsen thinks "fame is so fleeting and stupid."
Given the way she's treated in the press, it's not hard to empathize with the young star.
Her transition from television to music came at a price, courtesy of cruel bloggers who seemingly made it their mission to highlight her more embarrassing moments. During the Warped Tour in 2010, for example, a concert photographer snapped upskirt pictures of the Pretty Reckless singer on stage.
"My tampon string was put on the Internet when I was 15 because some a--hole shot up my dress and it made big headlines," she says. "For a year, if you Googled 'Taylor Momsen' the tampon photo was the first thing that came up. When that happens, you just go, 'I really just don't give a f--k,' and you close the computer. People are going to say what they're going to say, and the tabloids will always spin s--t."
Momsen left Gossip Girl behind in Season 4 (along with co-star Jessica Szohr), though she made a cameo in the series finale. That episode featured the Pretty Reckless song "Kill Me" at its conclusion.
"I started modeling at 2, and then acting at 3, and then Gossip Girl when I was 12, so I wasn't really making my own decisions," she tells The Daily Beast. "When I got to a place where I realized I was in control of my own life, and had found the right band, and everything was coming to fruition, it wasn't even a question: I was going to quit my day job. I came to set every day with a f--kin' guitar. But I'm very lucky that the producers were nice enough to write me out, allow me to tour, and pursue my passion, because they very easily could have told me to go f--k myself and keep me on the show."
Though the rock star's racy image has often been criticized, Momsen dismisses such complaints. "Sexuality and rock 'n' roll go hand-in-hand and have since the beginning of time," she says, "and if anyone thinks I'm doing anything more controversial than f--kin' Led Zeppelin, you're insane, because I can see Robert Plant's f--kin' dick, you know?"