Ashley Tisdale French’s unfiltered commentary on being iced out of a “toxic” mom group has caught the attention of many fellow celebrities.
In January 2026, Ashley — who shares two daughters with husband Christopher French — raised eyebrows with an essay for The Cut titled “Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group” as she candidly recalled feeling excluded from a group of friends.
“I remember being left out of a couple of group hangs, and I knew about them because Instagram made sure it fed me every single photo and Instagram Story,” she wrote. “I was starting to feel frozen out of the group, noticing every way that they seemed to exclude me. … I told myself it was all in my head, and it wasn’t a big deal. And yet, I could sense a growing distance between me and the other members of the group, who seemed to not even care that I wasn’t around much.”
Ashley said the group eventually became “too high school” for her, adding, “To be clear, I have never considered the moms to be bad people. (Maybe one.) But I do think our group dynamic stopped being healthy and positive — for me, anyway.”
While the actress didn’t name anyone specific in her essay, speculation quickly picked up online that she was potentially referring to Mandy Moore and Hilary Duff, who frequently spent time with Ashley and other Hollywood moms. A rep for Ashley subsequently denied that Moore and Duff were involved despite the High School Musical alum no longer following them on social media.
Chelsea Handler and Christy Carlson Romano have since given their opinions on the subject — as has Duff’s husband, Matthew Koma.
Keep scrolling to see which stars have publicly addressed the drama:
Chelsea Handler
Chelsea Handler speaks onstage during the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards on January 04, 2026 in Santa Monica, California. Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association
After getting a run-down about Ashley’s now-viral essay on Page Six Radio, Handler offered her thoughts, saying, “I have no idea what went on, but I know Mandy Moore and she’s a wonderful, sweet person. So I’ll just say that. But I don’t really know Ashley Tisdale.”
Handler clarified that she had no idea what potentially took place between the trio.
“And I don’t say it with disdain in the way I just said it,” she insisted. “But I don’t know Ashley Tisdale, so I would like to be transparent. And I do like Meghan Trainor, as well.”
Handler also pointed out that she was glad to have “never” been part of a mom group. “It sounds awful. That’s another reason not to have children. To have to deal with that s***,” she said. “You’re out of school, you’re a mother and you have to deal with that dynamic and being excluded again as an adult woman. No, thank you.”
Christy Carlson Romano
“Celeb mom drama is wild to watch unfold from outside the group,” Romano wrote via Instagram before adding in her caption that she was “minding my business.”
“I don’t identify as a celebrity. I think I’m a public person, but I don’t ever go around calling myself a celeb,” the former Disney Channel actress, who shares two kids with husband Brendan Rooney, said in a separate Instagram video. “I think that mom groups are really important to people when they first have their baby.”
She continued: “I think it aligns you with a certain kind of tribe to help you get through postpartum hormones and stuff like that. I think it’s really great, [and] that’s why mommy-and-me classes exist. … If that dynamic shifts, then just find another group of friends. But, I get it. Sometimes it gets a little crazy — and then you write an article about it.”
Haylie Duff
Us Weekly confirmed that Haylie, who was previously rumored to have had a falling out with sister Hilary, “liked” a joint Instagram post shared by Ashley and The Cut promoting the essay.
“LEAVE YOUR TOXIC FRIENDS BEHIND YOU IN 2026, says @ashleytisdalefrench,” the post read. “For #ItsBeenAYear, the actress, beauty founder, and mother details dumping her mom group, where the bullying between women mirrored their children’s playground antics. Read the story of how it all unfolded, in her own words, at the link in bio.”
Matthew Koma
Matthew Koma’s Instagram Story Courtesy of Matthew Koma/Instagram
Hilary’s husband uploaded a parody image of himself on the cover of The Cut with a mock headline that read, “A mom group tell all through a father’s eyes: When You’re the Most Self-Obsessed Tone Deaf Person on Earth, Other Moms Tend to Shift Focus To Their Actual Toddlers.”
Christopher French
Ashley’s husband, meanwhile, took to his Instagram Story to share a post from graphic designer Tyler Spangler. “It’s your choice whether or not to engage,” the cryptic message read.
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