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Taylor Momsen, a.k.a Gossip Girl's Jenny Humphrey, is being criticized after photographers snapped her smoking a cigarette on Wednesday in New York City. The 16-year-old isunder fire from an anti-smoking activist who says her behavior is irresponsible and sends a dangerous message to her young fans.
"She really has an extra responsibility to bear as an actress idolized by little girls out there," Patrick Reynolds, the director of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free America, told UsMagazine.com. "For her to be smoking sends the wrong message to kids. Evidence shows that stars do influence kids to smoke."
But Momsen has been pretty clear that she's never asked to have fans look up to her.
"To be honest, I don't f--king care. I didn't get into this to be a role model. So I'm sorry if I'm influencing your kids in a way that you don't like, but I can't be responsible for their actions. I don't care," she told the UK Times. "Honestly, if I'd have ended up as Hannah Montana, I don't know if the show would have gone as well. I probably would have told them all to go f--k themselves by the time I hit 11. And I don't know how that would have gone down. It's great for Miley, but I really like where I am right now and I feel really fortunate to be able to really be myself," she added.
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As a teen TV star, does Taylor Momsen have a responsibility to be a role model? Chime in below!
