As we've been told time and time again, life often imitates art. And while we'd refrain from calling Gossip Girl "art," Leighton Meester has allegedly been using her on-screen character's controlling and manipulative tendencies behind the scenes as well. Nan Zhang, who played suspected Gossip Girl scribe Jenny, has disappeared from the New York set. Though creator Josh Schwartz is blaming the sole minority character's displacement on Zhang's ridiculous decision to focus on school, those on set are pointing their fingers in Meester's direction:

"'She was pushed off the show,' says a snitch. 'Leighton didn't like her, and she went.'"

As Gossip Girl fans know, Leighton's character Blair Waldorf rules the private school, and Meester portrays the girl we all hated during high school flawlessly. But Zhang's alleged decision to pursue homework instead of Hollywood just sounds fishy, especially considering the age-old conspiracy theory that minorities always get kicked to the curb first in horror movies. Though Meester's rep is obviously claiming there's absolutely no truth to what sources told the New York Daily News, we have to wonder if playing a serious bitch on-screen has finally gone to Leighton's head. After all, she's been pounding the Hollywood pavement for years before finally getting her big break, only to be usurped by the show's breakaway star, Blake Lively. Could a Serena Van Woodsen Goes Back To Rehab, Never Heard From Again storyline be far away?

[Photo Credit: Getty]

• A 'GOSSIP GIRL' DROPOUT - OR DID LEIGHTON MEESTER PUSH HER OUT? [NYDN]