I’m a huge fan of both Gossip Girl and Euphoria. Two incredible shows that have made huge marks in the pop culture world.

So… let’s compare how similar Jenny Humphrey and Cassie Howard really are.

Is sexism happening here…?

It’s wild to me that audiences are so quick to judge and Jenny and Cassie, but even quicker to forgive characters like Chuck Bass and Nate Jacobs.

If you scroll through any number of Reddit threads or Instagram comment sections, you’ll see that fans are incredibly frustrated with both Jenny and Cassie.

They both make it on two people‘s hate lists for characters whore havoc in TV shows. But Chuck bass from Gossip Girl is easily forgiven because his redemption arc, and I have to question if part of the reason people are so quick to forgive him is due to the fact that he’s a male character.

And Nate Jacobs is so problematic that some of his scenes are terrifying. Yet there are tons of forums filled with people who are completely supportive of the character and excited to see more of him in the third season of the show.

One Reddit thread that was launched about five years ago that I came across it says, “Jenny Humphrey is the worst character ever. I’m re-watching gossip girl and I never hated Jenny so much until now. In season one, she was a Blair Waldorf wannabe who was down to betray anyone just to become one of Blair‘s minions. And then in season two should become some sort of rebel. I finally just finished season three and it’s probably the worst version of Jenny Humphrey.”

A separate thread launched about a year ago that I came across says, “ anyone who downright hates Cassie? TBH at this point I have zero empathy for her. Daddy issues and meal validation and such, there’s nothing that can excuse her behavior. I think many of us has had a friend who is desperate for attention, and you were always there to provide love and support for them. but at this point, I just look forward to Maddy unleashing hell on Cassie.”

And to be honest, there are countless additional Reddit threads that ring similar to those ones. People have a lot of negative things to say about both these characters. I have come across so many list of complaints.

Guy characters getting easily forgiven all the time makes me think there’s a little bit of sexism happening here!

But I also think that is a mark of a truly in-depth and well-written character. One that makes you question things and one that makes you feel super contemplative.

Someone would say that Jenny Humphrey walked so that Cassie Howard could run. Gossip girl was definitely one of the best teen TV shows of its day and it served as a blueprint for future teen dramas that came after it.