Ashley Tisdale French’s unfiltered commentary on being iced out of a “poisonous” mother group has caught the eye of many fellow celebrities.
In January 2026, Ashley — who shares two daughters with husband Christopher French — raised eyebrows with an essay for The Reduce titled “Breaking Up With My Poisonous Mother Group” as she candidly recalled feeling excluded from a gaggle of pals.
“I bear in mind being omitted of a few group hangs, and I knew about them as a result of Instagram made positive it fed me each single picture and Instagram Story,” she wrote. “I used to be beginning to really feel frozen out of the group, noticing each method that they appeared to exclude me. … I advised myself it was all in my head, and it wasn’t an enormous deal. And but, I may sense a rising distance between me and the opposite members of the group, who appeared to not even care that I wasn’t round a lot.”
Ashley stated the group ultimately grew to become “too highschool” for her, including, “To be clear, I’ve by no means thought of the mothers to be unhealthy individuals. (Perhaps one.) However I do suppose our group dynamic stopped being wholesome and optimistic — for me, anyway.”
Whereas the actress didn’t identify anybody particular in her essay, hypothesis shortly picked up on-line that she was probably referring to Mandy Moore and Hilary Duff, who regularly hung out with Ashley and different Hollywood mothers. A rep for Ashley subsequently denied that Moore and Duff had been concerned regardless of the Excessive College Musical alum now not following them on social media.
Chelsea Handler and Christy Carlson Romano have since given their opinions on the topic — as has Duff’s husband, Matthew Koma.
Maintain scrolling to see which stars have publicly addressed the drama:
Chelsea Handler
Chelsea Handler speaks onstage throughout the thirty first Annual Critics Selection Awards on January 04, 2026 in Santa Monica, California. Kevin Winter/Getty Photos for Critics Selection Affiliation
After getting a run-down about Ashley’s now-viral essay on Web page Six Radio, Handler supplied her ideas, saying, “I don’t know what went on, however I do know Mandy Moore and she or he’s a beautiful, candy particular person. So I’ll simply say that. However I don’t actually know Ashley Tisdale.”
Handler clarified that she had no thought what probably came about between the trio.
“And I don’t say it with disdain in the best way I simply stated it,” she insisted. “However I don’t know Ashley Tisdale, so I wish to be clear. And I do like Meghan Trainor, as properly.”
Handler additionally identified that she was glad to have “by no means” been a part of a mother group. “It sounds terrible. That’s another excuse to not have kids. To must cope with that s***,” she stated. “You’re out of college, you’re a mom and you must cope with that dynamic and being excluded once more as an grownup lady. No, thanks.”
Christy Carlson Romano
“Celeb mother drama is wild to look at unfold from outdoors the group,” Romano wrote by way of Instagram earlier than including in her caption that she was “minding my enterprise.”
“I don’t establish as a star. I believe I’m a public particular person, however I don’t ever go round calling myself a celeb,” the previous Disney Channel actress, who shares two children with husband Brendan Rooney, stated in a separate Instagram video. “I believe that mother teams are actually essential to individuals once they first have their child.”
She continued: “I believe it aligns you with a sure form of tribe that will help you get by means of postpartum hormones and stuff like that. I believe it’s actually nice, [and] that’s why mommy-and-me courses exist. … If that dynamic shifts, then simply discover one other group of pals. However, I get it. Generally it will get slightly loopy — and you then write an article about it.”
Haylie Duff
Us Weekly confirmed that Haylie, who was beforehand rumored to have had a falling out with sister Hilary, “favored” a joint Instagram publish shared by Ashley and The Reduce selling the essay.
“LEAVE YOUR TOXIC FRIENDS BEHIND YOU IN 2026, says @ashleytisdalefrench,” the publish learn. “For #ItsBeenAYear, the actress, magnificence founder, and mom particulars dumping her mother group, the place the bullying between ladies mirrored their kids’s playground antics. Learn the story of the way it all unfolded, in her personal phrases, on the hyperlink in bio.”
Can’t assist himself! Matthew Koma has earned a popularity as a troll through the years, getting laughs on the expense of different celebrities. Thank You! You’ve got efficiently subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Please enter a legitimate e mail. Subscribe By signing up, I comply with the Phrases and Privateness Coverage and to obtain emails from Us […]
Matthew Koma
Matthew Koma’s Instagram Story Courtesy of Matthew Koma/Instagram
Hilary’s husband uploaded a parody picture of himself on the duvet of The Reduce with a mock headline that learn, “A mother group inform all by means of a father’s eyes: When You’re the Most Self-Obsessed Tone Deaf Particular person on Earth, Different Mothers Are likely to Shift Focus To Their Precise Toddlers.”
Christopher French
Ashley’s husband, in the meantime, took to his Instagram Story to share a publish from graphic designer Tyler Spangler. “It’s your alternative whether or not or to not have interaction,” the cryptic message learn.
Meghan Trainor
Trainor is a reported member of Tisdale’s mother squad alongside Hilary and Moore.
“Me discovering out concerning the obvious mother group drama,” she wrote by way of TikTok alongside footage of herself typing at a pc.
Trainor set her add to her tune “Nonetheless Don’t Care,” maybe hinting at her mindset about Tisdale spilling the tea.
Daryl Sabara
Trainor’s husband additionally weighed in on the obvious drama.
“No drama over right here, simply attempting to maintain the children pleased,” Sabara advised TMZ shortly after Trainor broke her silence, referring to their two sons. “I don’t actually know what’s happening. I hope she’s OK, although.”
Francia Raisa
Raisa starred alongside Hilary in Hulu’s short-lived How I Met Your Father and additionally weighed in on the drama.
In a TikTok video, she sat in a automobile and pretended to do a monologue from She’s the Man, lip-synching, “Talking as a totally goal third-party outsider with completely no private curiosity within the matter, I’m not positive that you just and Olivia actually mesh properly collectively.”
She captioned her publish, “Not a mother however… #fyp #thecut.”
Willa Ford
Pop singer Willa Ford spoke out in protection of make-up artist Kelsey Deenihan and businesswoman Janice Gott, two of her pals who’ve hung out with Ashley’s former mother group.
“Kelsey and Janice are trip or dies. I went by means of a divorce. These had been ladies who had been by my aspect, who’re fantastic people simply basically, not simply within the enterprise,” Ford stated on Web page Six Radio. “My girlfriends didn’t deserve this. They’re not actresses. Their faces didn’t need to be plastered.”
Ford additionally stated that she has met Ashley, who’s “so pretty.”
“Everyone has at all times been good to me and fantastic to me, so I don’t know what occurred [in the group],” she continued. “Imply issues can occur. We will additionally make errors as individuals. Feeling omitted is an actual feeling. It’s crap. Everyone knows that. However I don’t know what occurred and I do know two of these ladies very well and I do know that bullying will not be of their DNA. So I simply really feel like it will’ve been good if the communication possibly may have been performed otherwise.”
Becca Tobin
Glee star Becca Tobin, a longtime buddy of Ashley’s, responded to a screenshot of Koma’s faux The Reduce cowl with, “Ew.”
