Meghan Trainor, Mandy Moore Speak Out Amid Ashley Tisdale's "Toxic" Mom Group Debacle
If the point was to prove that Ashley Tisdale was wrong when she compared her former mom group to a high school clique, her critics may have missed the mark.
The High School Musical alum first wrote about distancing herself from a coterie of fellow mothers in December, explaining in an entry on her site By Ashley French that she didn't think the group had turned toxic "because the moms themselves are toxic people, but because the dynamic shifts into an ugly place with mean-girl behavior."
The post, titled "You're Allowed to Leave Your Mom Group," didn't call out any alleged Regina George types by name. Nor did her follow-up on the subject that was published on The Cut Jan. 1, "Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group."
But because Tisdale—who shares daughters Jupiter, 5, and Emerson, 20 months, with husband David French—had been seen in photos hanging out with fellow famous moms Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff and Meghan Trainor, online sleuths were quick to conclude that they played a role in her split from the group.
Or at least it was assumed they were members of this "village of moms" who'd gone from "lifeline to landmine," as Tisdale described the situation, that made her feel shunned.
For the record, Tisdale's rep denied that her posts had anything to do with Moore, Duff or Trainor, telling TMZ Jan. 5 it was unfortunate that people were reading into it that way. Moreover, the rep noted noted that any political subtext readers were claiming to glean from the actress' words was also completely off-base.
But just when it seemed as if this was going to be a comments-section-only pile-up, Duff's husband, Matthew Koma, entered the fray.
Koma—who shares daughters Banks, 7, Mae, 5, and Townes, 2, with Duff, and is stepdad to her 14-year-old son Luca with ex Mike Comrie—created a fake magazine cover he posted to Instagram Stories Jan. 6, writing, “Read my new interview with @thecut.”
The ersatz cover's title story: “When You’re The Most Self Obsessed Tone Deaf Person On Earth, Other Moms Tend To Shift Focus To Their Actual Toddlers: A Mom Group Tell All Through A Father’s Eyes.”
E! News has reached out to everyone involved for comment and has not heard back.
Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Baby2Baby, Frank Micelotta/Disney via Getty, Maya Dehlin Spach/FilmMagic
The following day, Moore—who shares Gus Harrison, 5, Ozzie Bennett, 3, and Louise Everett, 20 months, with husband Taylor Goldsmith—had something much more poignant on her mind than mom group gossip.
After Koma applauded her performance at a concert benefiting victims of the 2025 Eaton Fire, she wrote on Instagram Stories Jan. 7, "This feels incredibly fitting as @matthewkoma happens to be one [of] the most talented and generous humans I’m lucky to know. He literally gave my family a place to stay one year ago today when we evacuated."
Still, the essay was certainly one to remember for Moore.
"I think the most important thing in my life is being a kind person and that legacy of kindness," the actress shared on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live May 18, "and anyone even insinuating that that might not be the case—and with the company that I choose to keep—is very upsetting."
Instead, Moore wishes Tisdale would have talked about her concerns with the group.
"I'm someone who is really scared by confrontation," the This Is Us alum continued, "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."
And ultimately, she added, "I wouldn’t have handled the situation this way." While Moore felt like the drama "perpetuates this silly trope that women can't be supportive of one another," she reiterated her proverbial village has always helped prop her up.
"I have not felt that one iota since becoming a parent," the Tangled star noted. "I’ve actually been so surprised by the meaningful relationships I’ve found with other moms and other parents just in general. That has always been my takeaway, and you need that. You need community. You need to find that support wherever you can get it."
Still, Koma's post kept the conversation going, prompting Trainor to give her two cents in a Jan. 8 TikTok.
The video showed the mom of Riley, 5, Barry, 2, and Mikey, 4 months, with husband Daryl Sabara sitting at a computer as she mimicked typing and feigned surprised, her single "Still Don't Care" playing in the background. The caption, alongside a healthy helping of tea emojis, read, “Me finding out about the apparent mom group drama.”
Sabara backed her forthwith, telling TMZ Jan. 8, "No drama over here...Just trying to keep the kids happy."
And asked how he felt about Tisdale's essay, he offered, "I don’t really know. I hope she’s okay, though.”
Trainor noted she was especially confused because it's been a while since she hung out with the group.
"It was really hard for a lot of moms, and I felt so bad," she told Us Weekly in April. "I felt bad for Ashley, that she was ever that sad. I think it was just a lot of miscommunication and confusion. I don’t really know what happened, but I wish them all the best. I texted all of them. Ashley texted me, 'I’m sorry, your name got dragged in.' And I was like, 'It’s all right, girl. The world’s a silly, crazy place, and they just want something to talk about.'"
Duff has also come clean about how she feels about the drama.
"It sucks to read something that’s not true," she said on Call Her Daddy in February, "and it sucks on behalf of six women and all of their lives."
And considering she was in the middle of promoting new music, the Lizzie McGuire alum admitted "the timing felt not great" and that she "felt used."
As for her thoughts on Koma's involvement, Duff didn't fault him for coming to her defense.
"Everything he does makes me laugh," she continued. "So I was like, ‘Oh my god.’ But I also don’t censor him, and I don’t tell him what he can and cannot post. He is so fierce for me, and I love him for that."
Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images
Meanwhile, plenty of commenters have rallied around Tisdale, many of them happy to assume she was snubbed by the celebrities in question. (Incidentally, mom of two Haylie Duff liked an Instagram post promoting Tisdale's essay about leaving the group.)
But her supporters also include people who could relate to the dynamic she described, from both sides, having been part of groups that once provided community, support and uplift but later devolved into just another social obligation with its own set of rules and a hierarchy that somehow forms when other members aren't looking.
"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," Tisdale wrote for The Cut. "When everyone else attended a birthday dinner together, I was met with excuses as to why I hadn't been invited."
She eventually realized she had become the odd woman out.
Natural flow of a friend group or something more malicious? It's unclear, and Tisdale noted that she doesn't know why she ended up on the outs and "probably never will."
But what this entire conflict proves is that taking sides is easy, getting out of a relationship-gone-wrong can be hard and everyone can benefit from a timeout now and again.
And while Tisdale is off looking for a new group, see more surprising celebrity friendships and what brought the stars together:
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Jacob Elordi & Teyana Taylor
The actors became pals after they both secured a 2026 Oscars nomination. Since then, Teyana has affectionately referred to Jacob as her "awards-season bestie" and joked that they often find themselves going "mullet for mullet," bonding over their similar hairstyle.
“We're young, we're blessed, we're being celebrated—this is the time to be happy and to have fun with it," the Best Supporting Actress nominee told Time in an interview published Feb. 2026, "especially in a space that some people take so serious, and some people are cold, some people are robotic."
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Mindy Kaling & Reese Witherspoon
They have been friends for years and have worked together. The two starred together in A Wrinkle in Time, while Mindy also had a recurring role on The Morning Show. In addition, the latter is co-writing Legally Blonde 3.
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Adam Sandler & Timothée Chalamet
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Paris Hilton & Britney Spears
The two hung out together in the aughts and maintained their friendship over the years.
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Now this is one strange duet! Fiddy met Bette working for the charity New York Restoration Project, where she gushed, "He's one of the newest members of our tribe. He's really made my life worth living."
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Taylor is a self-proclaimed good girl. Lena isn't afraid to stir the pot. But they have a lot of mutual respect for each other and the Girls creator described T.Swift's show as the "most life-affirming thing I've experienced."
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The former King of Queens actress has been supertight with Jenny From the Block for a while now, bonding over fashion and tweeting cutesy things at each other with the hashtag "#luckybesties."
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The Goop goddess herself is actually friends with both Jay and his wife Beyoncé, though you might be more surprised to learn that Gwyn is an intense rap enthusiast and her kids even call Mr. Carter "Uncle Jay."
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You might not expect the hunky thespian to be close with the dude from Superbad, but look at it this way: Brad is a total prankster (says Jonah) and Jonah is now a serious Oscar nominee (for their film Moneyball).
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The controversial rapper joined forces with Sir Elton at the 2001 Grammys and later Em turned to his new friend for support getting sober: "I told him, 'Look, I'm going through a problem and I need your advice.'"
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