Ashley Tisdale is clearing things up after her viral comments about friendship fallout amid motherhood.
In a statement to TMZTHE High school musical The alumna’s rep has shut down claims that Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff and Meghan Trainor were part of the so-called “toxic mom group” described by Tisdale in her recent essay for The cut.
The rep clarified Monday, Jan. 5, that Tisdale, 40, was not referring to Moore, 41, Duff, 38, or Trainor, 32. He pointed out that the essay was intended to explore relevant experience rather than calling out specific people, and that it was “turned into clickbait.”
In the essay titled “Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group,” the Phineas and Ferb The 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 speculating about who she is referring to. “Please don’t even try – whatever you think is true isn’t even close,” she wrote, although the warning ultimately proved 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 left out. “I remember being excluded from a few group meetings,” she wrote, noting that social media made distancing impossible to ignore.
Eventually, French confronted the group, sending a text saying that “this is too high school for me and I don’t want to be in it anymore.” Although some tried to smooth things over, she said the dynamic never fully recovered.
“To be clear, I never thought of moms as bad people,” she added. “But I think our group dynamic stopped being healthy and positive – for me anyway.”
