Taylor Momsen can’t seem to catch a break while touring with AC/DC — and this time, it’s an eight-legged, creepy crawly culprit to blame.
The 32-year-old Pretty Reckless frontwoman, best known for playing Cindy Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), was hospitalized in Mexico after a venomous spider bite sent her system into a tailspin.
It marked the second time in two years that a creature has disrupted her time on the road with the legendary rock band.
Taylor Momsen Reveals ‘Massive Spider’ Took ‘Chunk’ Out of Her Leg
The bite happened on Momsen’s lower right leg before The Pretty Reckless took the stage on April 7, 2026, at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City. The band has been opening for AC/DC on the Power Up tour.
Taylor Momsen’s life has truly come full circle since her breakthrough role in the 2000 festive comedy How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The actress-turned-rock star defied all expectations for her career after playing the sweet-natured Cindy Lou Who, landing a risque role on Gossip Girl and then fronting the hard rock band The Pretty Reckless. […]
Momsen described it as a “massive spider” that took “a chunk” out of her leg. The venom significantly affected her system, requiring doctors to administer a shot to neutralize the toxins and reduce swelling.
Despite the ordeal, she still performed that night.
She first shared the news in an April 8, 2026, Instagram post, complete with her signature dark humor.
“So it wouldn’t be an AC/DC tour if I didn’t get bit…this time a massive spider decided to take a chunk out of me and its venom did a number on my system so had to have the wonderful doctors in Mexico come and deliver quite the shot before the show last night…add it to the list! Spider woman? Batgirl?” she wrote in the caption.
“When do my superpowers kick in? That’s what I want to know,” she said in an accompanying video.
Taylor Momsen’s Spider Bite Worsened a Week Later
What initially seemed manageable quickly took a turn. On April 14, 2026, Momsen posted an update from a hospital, showing that a large rash had spread up her calf.
“Hospital today, show tomorrow, poisonous spiders are NO BUENO but the show must go on, see you tomorrow Mexico City!” she wrote.
The rash got worse overnight. On April 15, 2026, she posted another update showing herself being wheeled through a hospital hallway in a bed.
“Or I just spend the night in the hospital…thank you to the amazing doctors who, well, they know,” she wrote in the caption.
Her band was expected to perform on April 15, 2026, for their final show at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City.
Taylor Momsen Was Bit by a Bat 2 Years Ago
If this story sounds familiar, there’s good reason. Almost exactly two years earlier, Momsen was bitten by a bat mid-concert while performing with The Pretty Reckless on the same AC/DC tour.
That incident occurred on May 29, 2024, at Estadio La Cartuja in Seville, Spain. The bat landed on her leg while she was performing “Witches Burn.”
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 […]
“There’s a f***ing flying bat on my leg right now,” she said into the mic. “Can someone help me please?” She then joked that she “must really be a witch.”
“It’s alright. And the bat’s fine. He’s gonna be my new friend,” she added at the time.
Momsen later revealed in a since-deleted Instagram post that the bat did bite her, requiring two weeks of rabies shots. Hospital staff even nicknamed her “Batgirl” after seeing the incident on local news.
“Thanks to all the staff at the hospital who dubbed me #batgirl after seeing it on the local news that morning,” she continued. “That’s one for the books!!!!” she added in the post.
AC/DC later threw her a bat-themed birthday party after the incident, according to VICE.
What’s Next for The Pretty Reckless and AC/DC?
Both incidents occurred while Momsen and The Pretty Reckless were opening for AC/DC on the Power Up tour, which began in 2024.
The tour is scheduled to take a break after the April 15, 2026, show and will resume in North America in July through September.
Momsen, also known for her role as a former Gossip Girl star, seems to be taking the latest setback in stride — even if her quest for superpowers remains unfulfilled.
