Mandy Moore is breaking her silence on the “toxic mom group” drama that ignited after Ashley Tisdale‘s essay in The Cut earlier this year.
The This Is Us star made a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live, where she shared her reaction to Tisdale’s claims that she had to leave her mom group because it was becoming toxic and she felt left out.
Though the High School Musical alum didn’t drop names, people online were quick to assume she was referring to Moore, Hilary Duff and Meghan Trainor, as they had been photographed together in what appeared to be the same friend group.
“It’s wild to have anybody talk about your life, and I know Hilary has sort of mentioned this too,” Moore said. “It’s like we both have grown up in this business and had people dissect who we are and the choices we make and all of that, but this was something altogether different and decidedly way more upsetting, you know what I mean? It just cuts to the core.”
The actress, who shares three children with her husband, Taylor Goldsmith, continued, “The most important thing in my life is being a kind person and like 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. I’d say that was the biggest takeaway, sort of the shock of like, ‘Wow.’”
The A Walk to Remember star admitted she’s “really scared by confrontation,” but that when it’s really important, she’s a “huge proponent” of having a conversation “if my feelings are hurt or there’s something I need to get something off my chest.”
“It’s not always like the most comfortable of situations, but I think that’s where I sort of differed in feeling like I wouldn’t have handled the situation this way,” Moore said. “I think the biggest takeaway from that whole ridiculous debacle of like, ‘Wow, so it’s a real slow news day,’ is that I feel like it just sort of perpetuates this silly trope that women can’t be supportive of one another and that we’re inherently petty and that we’re inherently out to one-up each other, and I have not felt that one iota since becoming a parent.”
“I’ve actually been so surprised by the meaningful relationships I found with other moms and other parents just in general,” she added. “That has always been my takeaway, and you need that. You need community. You need to find that support wherever you can get it. We need to be able to talk about all of that.”
In her essay published in January, Tisdale detailed what led to her decision to part ways with her friend group, writing, “I was starting to feel frozen out of the group, noticing every way that they seemed to exclude me. At first, I tried not to take things personally. It’s not like people aren’t allowed to get together without me — and maybe there were perfectly good reasons that I hadn’t been invited. We were all busy, life was hectic.”
The Phineas and Ferb star later added, “You deserve to go through motherhood with people who actually, you know, like you. And if you have to wonder if they do, here’s the hard-earned lesson I hope you’ll take to heart: It’s not the right group for you. Even if it looks like they’re having the best time on Instagram.”
In February, Duff also responded to the drama making headlines, saying, “This is not new for me. I’ve had this since I was maybe 15 and starting to get followed around by paparazzi. Everything starts getting documented and everyone knows my life and all the players in it. So the stories that get news pickup — it’s not what happens to a normal person who maybe became an actor as an adult.”
