Ashley Tisdale is clearing the air after her viral comments about friendship fallouts amid motherhood.
In a statement to TMZ, the High School Musical alum’s representative shut down claims that Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff, and Meghan Trainor were part of the so-called “toxic mom group” Tisdale described in her recent essay for The Cut.
The rep clarified on Monday, January 5, that Tisdale, 40, was not referring to Moore, 41, Duff, 38, or Trainor, 32. He stressed that the essay was meant to explore a relatable experience rather than call out specific people, and that it has been “twisted into clickbait.”
In the essay, titled “Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group,” the Phineas and Ferb voice actress reflected on the emotional impact of feeling quietly pushed out of a close-knit circle. Tisdale prefaced the essay by warning readers to refrain from speculation about who she’s referring to. “Please, don’t even try — whatever you think is true isn’t even close,” she wrote, though the disclaimer was ultimately futile.
Tisdale, who shares daughters Jupiter, 4, and Emerson, 15 months, with husband Christopher French, explained that the group formed during the pandemic after she welcomed her first child in 2021. Over time, however, she began to feel excluded. “I remember being left out of a couple of group hangs,” she wrote, noting that social media made the distance impossible to ignore.
Eventually, French confronted the group, texting that “this is too high school for me, and I don’t want to take part in it anymore.” While some tried to smooth things over, she said the dynamic never fully recovered.
“To be clear, I have never considered the moms to be bad people,” she added. “But I do think our group dynamic stopped being healthy and positive — for me, anyway.”
