Is Taylor Momsen the next Lindsay Lohan?
The “Gossip Girl” actress-turned-rock star is only 16, but she’s already been spotted smoking cigarettes, embracing punky fashion and giving decidedly adult interviews, prompting some to worry about the teen’s future.
On “Gossip Girl,” her character, Jenny Humphrey, ran away from home and dated a drug dealer, among other darker deeds.
In real life, it’s her words that have been shocking.
She told Disorder magazine that she was “bored of men,” following comments to Entertainment Weekly that she wanted to “be [late Nirvana frontman] Kurt Cobain” and defiantly told Parade, “I smoke, so what? Why do people give a s*** about what a 16-year-old girl who they’ve never met does?”
“I’m sort of terrified that it’s just going to be thigh highs and a bra as soon as she turns 18,” Heather Cocks, a style blogger at GoFugYourself.com and NYMag.com, told ABC News. “There’s not much real estate left that we haven’t already seen.”
Cocks also wondered where the star’s parents are amidst her recent transformation from demure teen to makeup-doused rocker.
“One of our favorite lamentations is, ‘Who is putting the ‘mom’ in Momsen?’” she questioned.
However, University of Washington sociology professor Pepper Schwartz told ABC News that Taylor’s behavior wasn’t out of character for her age.
“It’s not so different from other 16-year-olds in the sense that it’s all about them,” the professor said. “Of course, she lives in a dangerous environment and she has access to dangerous people and dangerous drugs.”
Shwartz added that edgy young stars like Lohan and Momsen might go through life too fast.
“I think a lot of these girls are old souls by the time they’re in their twenties. They’ve had a lot of living ,” she said.
Time will tell if Taylor goes down that path – or learns from her peers’ past mistakes.
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