Mandy Moore Sounds-Off on Ashley Tisdale's Toxic Mom Group Essay

Mandy Moore is speaking out about Ashley Tisdale’s toxic mom group essay for The Cut.

In January, Ashley wrote about leaving a group of moms after feeling left out of some group activities. She said it started to feel “too high school,” and efforts to patch things up failed. Ultimately, Ashley said the group no longer felt “healthy and positive.”

Fans believed she was writing about a mom group that included celebs like Mandy and Hilary Duff and noticed that Ashley was no longer following them on social media.

Tisdale’s rep previously told TMZ the essay was not about that mom group or those celebrities.

Mandy, however, feels otherwise.

The "This Is Us" star opened up about the drama on SiriusXM’s "Andy Cohen Live,” saying, “It’s wild to have anybody talk about your life, and I know Hilary has sort of mentioned this, too... 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.”

Moore insisted, “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 actress confessed she doesn’t like confrontation but is willing to have those conversations “if my feelings are hurt or there’s something I need to get something off my chest.”

Mandy explained, “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. 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.”

The mom of three added, “I’ve actually been so surprised by the meaningful relationships I 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. We need to be able to talk about all of that.”

In February, Alex Cooper asked Duff about the essay on her “Call Her Daddy” podcast.

She shared, "I felt really sad. I honestly felt really sad. I was, like pretty, pretty taken aback and felt just sad.”

Hilary insisted, “I think I was just like, ‘Whoa.’ It sucks to read something that’s, like, not true and it sucks on behalf of, like, six women and all of their lives."

After Ashley dropped her essay, Duff’s husband Matthew Koma weighed in on the drama.

Koma roasted Tisdale on Instagram Stories by Photoshopping himself into one of her images from The Cut and including the headline, "When You're The Most Self Obsessed Tone Deaf Person On Earth, Other Moms Tend To Shift Focus To Their Actual Toddlers.”

He included the subhead, "A Mom Group Tell All Through A Father's Eyes.”

Matthew added, "Read my new interview with @TheCut.”

Alex asked Hilary if she knew about the post ahead of time. Hilary said, “No,” adding, "Honestly, everything he does makes me laugh. So, I was like, ‘Oh, my God. Oh, my God.' But I also don't censor him, and I don’t tell him what he can and can't post."

She said of their marriage, "He is so fierce for me, and I love him for that.”

The essay came out just as Hilary was preparing to step back into the spotlight with new music and a tour. She told Cooper of the essay, "I think it came at, like, the craziest time… The timing felt not great and I felt used.”