- Taylor Momsen said she was bullied "relentlessly" after starring in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."
- Momsen said on the "Podcrushed" podcast that her peers in numerous schools called her "Grinch girl."
"Gossip Girl" star Taylor Momsen said she was bullied "relentlessly" during her school years after starring in "How The Grinch Stole Christmas."
Momsen famously starred as Cindy Lou Who alongside Jimmy Carrey's Grinch in the famous holiday movie, which hit theaters in 2000.
However, in an appearance on the podcast "Podcrushed" Wednesday, Momsen said the success of the film was not completely positive.
Momsen said that she struggled to make friends at the time because she was constantly moving around with her mother and sister for her acting career. She also said that with the acting fame came bullying.
"'The Grinch' changed my life in a multitude of ways, one of them being I was made fun of relentlessly," the Pretty Reckless singer said. "So any time I would start school or go somewhere else, I don't even think the kids knew my name. I was just Grinch girl. So it was, 'Grinch girl, Grinch girl, Grinch girl.'"
She added: "Not even character name. Just Grinch girl. I got used to it, but it was alienating."
On the podcast, Momsen said she finally got to attend school for a full year in Maryland when her family settled down with her father.
"It was during middle school, like sixth, seventh grade, which was interesting because that was probably the first time in a long time that I've been in a proper school system," Momsen said.
However, a year into going to school, where she made friends and started a band, she landed the role of Jenny Humphrey in "Gossip Girl."
"As soon as I started to find my little groove and school as a normal kid, 'Gossip Girl' came about and I got uprooted to New York and the band fell apart," Momsen said. "We were going to be huge. It was a real bummer and I had to restart it all in New York which didn't take me that long."
Momsen admitted she didn't want to leave for New York but was persuaded by "larger powers" that the series was a great opportunity in a city that she loved, and not too far from her friends.
"I never saw them again," Momsen said.
"Gossip Girl" ended up being a big hit and Momsen's biggest break before she left acting to start her own band, The Pretty Reckless.