Taylor Momsen defends naked album cover

Singer/actress Taylor Momsen has defended her decision to pose nude for the cover of her latest album, insisting she was trying to emulate classic artwork by Eric Clapton.

The Gossip Girl star sparked a storm of controversy this month (Jan14) when she unveiled the racy buttock-baring photograph which will feature on the cover of Going to Hell, the new album by her band The Pretty Reckless.

However, Momsen is adamant she did not intend to grab headlines by stripping off, as she just wanted to create an iconic cover shot like the semi-nude picture featured on Clapton's 1975 live album E. C. Was Here.

She tells Hungertv.com, "I was trying to make a classic photo like the album covers I love, like (Pink Floyd's) Wish You Were Here or Clapton's E.C. Was Here. I honestly never thought about the nudity thing, I was trying to express that when we leave this world, you don't take nothing with you but our soul (sic)..."