Ashley Tisdale’s Representative Responds to Rumors About Hilary Duff and Mandy Moore

Ashley Tisdale French aims to clarify some misunderstandings.

A spokesperson for French, 40, has responded to online speculation suggesting that Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff, and Meghan Trainor were part of the “toxic mom group” she addressed in The Cut last week.

As reported by TMZ, French’s representative dismissed these rumors in a statement on Monday, January 5, clarifying that French was not alluding to Moore, 41, Duff, 38, or Trainor, 32. The representative emphasized that French’s January 1 article, titled “Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group,” was intended to highlight issues many women experience regarding exclusion from friend groups.

Us Weekly has reached out for comments from the actress.

“There’s one recent topic that has generated a lot of discussion since I discussed it a few weeks ago. Many women have reached out to say ‘I feel seen’ and to share their heartfelt stories with me,” French expressed in her essay for The Cut. “This topic has even prompted some online detectives to try and piece things together like they’re on CSI (please, don’t even try — whatever you think is accurate isn’t close). The focus? Mom-group drama.”

French shares daughters Jupiter, 4, and Emerson, 15 months, with her husband Christopher French. Post the arrival of their first child in 2021, she connected with a circle of friends who were also expecting during the coronavirus pandemic.

However, she eventually started to feel detached from that mom group, noting, “I remember being left out of a couple of gatherings, which I only learned about through Instagram showing me every single photo and Story. I was beginning to feel excluded, aware of all the ways they seemed to overlook me.”

She added, “I convinced myself it was just in my imagination and not a significant issue. Yet, I could sense a widening gap between me and the other group members, who didn’t seem to mind my absence.”

At one point, she texted the group stating “this feels like high school, and I don’t want to be a part of it anymore.”

French recounted that her candidness “wasn’t well-received.” “Some members tried to make amends. One even sent flowers but then ignored me when I expressed my gratitude.”

To clarify, I have never considered the other moms to be bad people (maybe just one). However, I felt our group dynamic turned unhealthy and negative — for me, at least.

French did not name any individuals in her essay and mentioned that she still can’t comprehend why she was excluded from social activities.

“Here I was, sitting alone one night after putting my daughter to bed, thinking, ‘Maybe I’m just not cool enough?’” she wrote. “Suddenly, it felt like high school all over again, leaving me confused about what I was doing ‘wrong’ that led to my exclusion.”