Mandy Moore slams Ashley Tisdale's 'toxic mom group' remarks as 'upsetting' in new statement
Rhianna Benson
Featured Image Credit: Gary Gershoff/Getty Images
Five months may have passed, but Mandy Moore has finally clapped back at Ashley Tisdale's allegations of a 'toxic mom group' in Hollywood.
The actress was asked about the controversy during an appearance on the latest episode of SiriusXM's Andy Cohen Live, where she slammed Tisdale's comments as 'upsetting'.
As a reminder, in a self-penned essay published in The Cut last year - titled 'Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group' - 40-year-old Tisdale took aim at a group of anonymous former friends.
The High School Musical star admitted to 'craving connection' with fellow mothers following the birth of her first daughter, Jupiter Iris, in 2021, and had reached out to the close-knit circle. Tisdale recalled feeling 'lucky' to have 'found her village' when the unnamed trio welcomed her and Jupiter along to playdates, and invited her to join a parenting group chat.
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She later alleged, however, that relations between her and the mum squad had ended more abruptly than they'd begun, and she felt 'frozen out', comparing their behaviour to that exhibited by 'high school' girls.
It didn't take long for fans to identify the women mentioned in the essay as movie star Moore, Disney Channel alum Hilary Duff, and musician Meghan Trainor - though her rep later denied this was true.
Reflecting on the incident this week, Moore compared the bust-up to other moments of criticism she's endured in her career.
"This was something altogether different and decidedly way more upsetting," she explained. "The most important thing in my life is being a kind person and that legacy of kindness, and anyone even insinuating that that might not be the case—and with the company that I choose to keep—is very upsetting."
This Is Us actress Moore, 42, also recalled feeling 'shocked' after the news of Tisdale's essay first broke, insisting she'd have been prepared to sit down and talk things through with her.
"I'm someone who is really scared by confrontation, but also when it's important, I am a huge proponent and like having a conversation if my feelings are hurt or there's something I need to get off my chest—face-to-face," she explained.
"It's not always like the most comfortable of situations, but that's where I sort of differed in feeling like I wouldn't have handled the situation this way."
Lastly, Moore accused Tisdale's remarks of 'perpetuating' the 'silly trope that women can't be supportive of one another'.
"I have not felt that one iota since becoming a parent," she went on to say. "I've actually been so surprised by the meaningful relationships I found with other moms and other parents just in general."
Now, she hopes to use her experience - no matter how tricky it was to endure - to cheer on other mothers.
"That has always been my takeaway, and you need that, you need community," Moore continued. "You need to find that support wherever you can get it. You need to be able to talk about all of that."
Hilary Duff:
Duff, 38, was actually the first to respond to Tisdale's remarks, which she denied earlier this year, claiming they left her feeling 'really sad' and 'taken aback'.
She also slammed the depiction of their dynamic as untrue and unfair to the women involved.
The Lizzie McGuire star's husband, Matthew Koma, took a much more aggressive stance online, however, sharing a parody of Tisdale's headline on Instagram, mocking it with the caption: "When You're The Most Self-Obsessed Tone Deaf Person On Earth, Other Moms Tend To Shift Focus To Their Actual Toddlers."
Meghan Trainor:
Last month, Trainor told US Weekly that she and Tisdale share no bad blood, claiming she 'felt bad' for the Suite Life of Zach & Cody star.
"I felt bad that she was ever that sad, and I think it was just a lot of miscommunication and confusion," the singer insisted. "I don't know what happened, but I wish them all the best."
Trainor also claimed that Tisdale had texted her in the weeks that followed to apologise that her 'name got dragged in'.
"I was like, 'It's all right, girl, like, the world's a silly, crazy place, and they just want something to talk about'," she continued.