Work It Out On The Remix
Mandy Moore Has No Time For Ashley Tisdale's Toxic Mom Group Essay
The This Is Us alum broke her silence on the viral drama.
Mandy Moore’s relationship with Ashley Tisdale French isn’t all “Candy.” On the May 18 episode of SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live, the actor-singer responded to Tisdale’s viral essay for The Cut, where she wrote about leaving a “toxic mom group.” Internet sleuths connected the dots to Moore and Hilary Duff, who was part of a friend group with Tisdale, as seen in various Instagram posts.
Speaking to Andy Cohen, Moore said she and Duff both have “had people dissect who we are and the choices we make” as a result of growing up in the entertainment industry, but pointed out that Tisdale’s essay felt “altogether different and decidedly way more upsetting.”
“The most important thing in my life is being a kind person and that legacy of kindness, and anyone even insinuating that that might not be the case — and with the company that I choose to keep — is very upsetting,” she said.
Moore went on to explain that she would’ve rather hashed out their differences in person than through an online letter.
“I’m someone who is really scared by confrontation, but also when it’s important, I am a huge proponent of having a conversation if my feelings are hurt or there’s something I need to get off my chest,” she said. “It’s not always the most comfortable of situations, but I think that’s where I differed in feeling like I wouldn’t have handled the situation this way.”
She concluded by reflecting on the drama's impact, quipping that it was a “real slow news day” for the internet.
“I feel like it perpetuates this silly trope that women can’t be supportive of one another and that we’re inherently petty and inherently out to one-up each other, and I have not felt that one iota since becoming a parent,” she said. “I’ve actually been so surprised by the meaningful relationships I found with other moms and other parents just in general.”
Duff had a similar reaction to Tisdale’s essay, saying “the timing felt not great and I felt used” on a February episode of Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast. “I was pretty taken aback and felt just sad,” she admitted. “It sucks to read something that’s not true. And it sucks on behalf of six women in all of their lives.”
