
You may recall that the CW's much buzzed about show Gossip Girl actually used negative quotes from family groups and newspapers to promote its second season several weeks back. The concept proved to be effective in terms of increased ratings and viewership, and I liked it because the campaign was essentially pissing in the face of people calling the show inappropriate for casually depicting relatively normal events in the lives of teenagers (sex, drug use, etc.). But the episode that aired last Monday, Pret-A-Poor J, may have crossed the delicate line that separates edgy from just plain creepy. When you run a site like this, you become very familiar with this line.
Let's recap the scenes in question, which both occurred within a 3-to-5 minute stretch. First, as you can see in the photo above, you have Taylor Momsen, who not only plays a 15-year-old but actually is 15, and Willa Holland from The O.C., who's 17, dancing around in their bras while a much older guy takes pictures. I tried this same thing last weekend and I assure you it can be a lot of fun, but when the police arrive that whole "it's okay, I'm a photographer" bit doesn't work so well.
But don't worry, Chace Crawford's character Nate saves the day and rescues little Jenny Humphrey from what he calls a "bad scene," then drags her away. Fine. Understandable. Then this happens...
While I'm sure Taylor Momsen absolutely loved filming this scene because the ladies think Chace is just dreamy, I'm guessing it was a bit more awkward for 23-year-old Crawford. That's right, we have a guy who's 23 making out with a 15-year-old girl. It's one thing to joke about jail bait (which we do frequently around here), but you're not supposed to act on it. Not on camera at least - that's evidence.
Something tells me the marketing team for Gossip Girl is going to have plenty of material for their next ad campaign.