Taylor Momsen Opens Up About Depression and Substance Abuse Following Deaths of Chris Cornell and Producer

Taylor Momsen faced a stark decision after depression and substance abuse nearly consumed her. Two deaths hit her hard: Soundgarden's Chris Cornell in 2017, then her producer Kato Khandwala just twelve months after. The Pretty Reckless frontwoman revealed this struggle during a podcast interview

"I had to make a very conscious choice at a point where I was either going to live or I was going to die and I had to either stop everything I was doing and get my life together, or this was going to kill me," she said. "I luckily chose to move forward but it was that serious".

The former Gossip Girl actor described Khandwala's passing as "the nail in the coffin for me". Grief took over, and substance abuse followed. Losing both men within a year broke something inside her.

"It was a giant one-two punch because they were not that far apart from each other," she said. "I just went off the rails, I didn't handle that well. I got very heavy into substance abuse and this cloud of depression that I couldn't shake."

Music pulled her back from the edge. She started listening to records again, tracing her steps to where it all began — to when she first loved this art. "Eventually I got to a place where I could start listening to records again. I very calculatedly went, 'Where did I fall in love with this? How do I find myself again?' So I started at the very beginning, which was The Beatles," she said.

The Pretty Reckless released new music in August with the single "For I Am Death." More tracks are coming soon. The band will perform at Download and Rock For People festivals in 2026. Meanwhile, fans can get band updates and buy previous albums from their official website.