Taylor Momsen was bitten by a bat while performing onstage and will need rabies shots for the next two weeks.
Momsen, 30, frontwoman for The Pretty Reckless and a former Gossip Girl star, was performing her band’s song “Witches Burn” in Seville on Wednesday, May 29, when a bat flew onto the stage, bit her and clung to her leg. She shared the footage via an Instagram Reel on Friday, May 31,, which showed how she stayed remarkably calm.
The footage details the crowd trying to get her attention, with Momsen responding, “You guys are pointing at something and I don’t know what you’re saying.” She then looks down and after briefly yelling, “Oh my God,” she calmly says, “There’s a f–king bat on my leg right now. Someone help me please.”
Her band then surrounded her and, while they were apparently trying to figure out what to do, she cracked the joke, “I must really be a witch.”
“So…ROCK AND ROLL MOMENT…in Seville Wednesday during ‘Witches Burn’ of all songs… a BAT 🦇 🦇 flew onto me and clung to my leg,” wrote Momsen in the caption. “In the moment I was performing and had no idea until the incredible crowd kept screaming and pointing…he was cute, but yes he bit me…so rabies shots for the next two weeks.”
The Pretty Reckless is currently touring Europe with AC/DC as part of its Power Up tour. The band has another show in Seville on Saturday, June 1, before heading to the Netherlands and Germany.
Momsen went on to thank those who treated her and gave her an apt nickname.
“Thanks to all the staff at the hospital who dubbed me #batgirl after seeing it on the local news that morning … more footage to come … that’s one for the books!!!!”
Naturally, fans and celebrities alike flooded Momsen’s Instagram comments once she shared her ordeal. More than a few referenced Ozzy Osbourne, the so-called Prince of Darkness who once bit the head off a bat onstage.
Natasha Bedingfield commented, asking if it hurt to which Momsen replied,“The bite? No. The shots? Yes.”
Momsen got her start in acting, appearing as Cindy Lou Who in the 2000 version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, starring Jim Carey. She portrayed Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl from 2007 to2012 before quitting acting to focus on music. Momsen formed The Pretty Reckless in 2009 and the band released its first album, Light Me Up, in 2010.