From Gossip Girl to Game Day: Taylor Momsen Sang the Anthem Before the Bengals’ Madrid Game
Gossip Girl’s Jenny Humphrey just sang the national anthem on one of football’s biggest international stages — and Ohio was the team on the field.
Taylor Momsen performing with The Pretty Reckless in 2026. (Wikimedia Commons)
Taylor Momsen, the former Gossip Girl star turned frontwoman of The Pretty Reckless, performed a stripped-down rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the Cincinnati Bengals took on the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL’s Madrid game on Sunday, Nov. 8, at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. She was accompanied by guitarist Ben Phillips, her longtime bandmate. The game aired on NFL Network, and the NFL shared a clip of the performance on Instagram.
Spanish classical guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas performed the Spanish anthem, and Colombian star Manuel Turizo headlined the halftime show.
The Bengals won the game 34–17 over the Falcons.
It is not Momsen’s first NFL stage this season — earlier this fall she joined Soundgarden for a halftime set at the Seattle Seahawks’ home opener. Momsen has fronted The Pretty Reckless since 2009, trading the Upper East Side for rock stages — and on Sunday, a stadium in Madrid.
