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All the Celebrities Who Have Seemingly Reacted to Ashley Tisdale’s ‘Toxic Mom Group’ Article, So Far
Ashley Tisdale set the internet buzzing after opening up about a painful falling-out with what she described as a “toxic” mom group — and now, several people in her orbit (and adjacent to the drama) are reacting in very different ways.
The High School Musical alum, 40, made headlines after publishing a deeply personal essay for The Cut titled Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group, in which she reflected on feelings of exclusion, cliques and ultimately choosing to walk away from a group of fellow celebrity moms.
In her essay, Ashley focused less on celebrity drama and more on the emotional toll of feeling left out. She explained that the group dynamic reminded her of past experiences with exclusion.
“I realized that there were group text chains that didn’t include everyone, which led to cliques forming within the larger group,” she wrote. “And after the third or fourth time of seeing social media photos of everyone else at a hangout that I didn’t get invited to, it felt like I wasn’t really part of the group after all.””
While Ashley never named names, fans were quick to speculate — and the reactions that followed only added fuel to the fire. Names like Hilary Duff, Mandy Moore and Meghan Trainor were thrown around the ring — although Ashley’s rep was quick to deny the speculation. That being said, some celebrities who are or were part of her inner circle have spoken out following the article’s publication.
Matthew Koma Enters the Chat
Hilary Duff’s husband, Matthew Koma, took quite the dig toward the article. The singer and producer, 38, inserted himself into the conversation by sharing a parody image of himself on a fake The Cut magazine cover.
The mock headline 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.”
Koma doubled down on the sarcasm by captioning the post, “Read my new interview with @thecut.”
While he didn’t name Ashley directly, it wasn’t hard for fans to connect the dots, especially given his wife’s rumored ties to the mom group mentioned in the essay.
Christopher French Defends His Wife
Shortly after the essay went live, Ashley’s husband, composer Christopher French, appeared to subtly weigh in. On Tuesday, the 44-year-old took to his Instagram Stories to reshare a November 2025 post from graphic designer Tyler Spangler.
“It’s your choice whether or not to engage,” the message read in colorful letters.
The timing of the repost raised eyebrows, as it came just one day after Ashley’s essay sparked and soon after Matthew’s post. While French didn’t add any commentary of his own, many fans interpreted the post as quiet support for his wife amid the backlash.
Ashley’s Rep Responds
Soon after the article was published, fans noticed Ashley had unfollowed fellow celebrity moms Mandy Moore and Hilary Duff on social media, prompting speculation that they were at the center of the fallout. As first reported by the Daily Mail, the unfollows set off online “detectives” trying to decode the drama.
However, Ashley’s rep was quick to shut down the rumors. According to TMZ, the rep said there’s “zero truth to what online ‘detectives’ think they’ve cracked, especially since the piece wasn’t even about Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff or Meghan Trainor like they’re assuming.”
The rep also denied that politics played any role, noting that Ashley is a registered Democrat.
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