Emerging from a period of relative quiet in Hollywood, Ashley Tisdale has unintentionally stirred up a fierce social media debate reminiscent of her iconic High School Musical role, Sharpay. This unexpected drama, however, is playing out in real life and involves the 40-year-old actress, who is now a mom of two.

The commotion started on New Year’s Day with Tisdale’s article for The Cut, provocatively titled, “Breaking Up with My Toxic Mom Group.”

In her heartfelt 1,300-word piece, Tisdale—mother to daughters Jupiter and Emerson, with her husband, composer Chris French—shared her journey of seeking out others who could empathize with the challenges of motherhood, from mood swings to sleepless nights and the identity shift that accompanies parenthood.

She initially found solace and camaraderie in a new circle of mothers, which filled her with optimism about achieving a harmonious balance between her career and family responsibilities.

Yet, over time, the camaraderie turned sour. Tisdale described experiences of being excluded from gatherings, feeling like an outcast, and dealing with dynamics that echoed the cliques of high school.

Having distanced herself from this “mom group,” Tisdale has left the internet buzzing with speculation about which of her high-profile friends might be the “toxic” individuals she referenced.

Ashley Tisdale, 40, inadvertently sparked a social media firestorm this week when she opened up about leaving her ‘toxic mom group’ in an essay for The Cut (pictured in 2024)

Hilary Duff (center right) once posted a photo on Instagram that Meghan Trainor (right) took, sharing her A-list ‘village of moms’ that also included Tisdale (left) and Mandy Moore

While Tisdale hasn’t dropped any names, fans were quick to note that she has recently unfollowed both singer Mandy Moore and fellow Disney star Hilary Duff on Instagram. 

Singer Meghan Trainor’s name has also surfaced online.

However, a representative for Tisdale insisted to TMZ this week that there is ‘zero truth’ in claims her article was about Duff, Moore or Trainor.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, an inside source has now provided further detail on the fallout – and, in a particularly intriguing new development, suggested that Tisdale herself may have been part of the problem.

The source explained that the ‘mom group’ largely interacted over a text chain, on which everyone was ‘on the same page, having fun, making plans to get together, making fun of each other, just making the conversation light and fun.

‘But then things eventually take a turn, either some talk too much, not enough, decide to no longer listen or ask questions or be concerned with people’s questions or concerns, and this is what happened with Ashley and the mom group.’

Tisdale shares two daughters, Jupiter and Emerson, with her husband Christopher French (pictured in 2016)

In her essay, Tisdale criticized her former friends for making her feel ‘frozen out’ in her vulnerable postpartum months

Tisdale felt ‘alienated’ and that ‘nobody took her questions to heart’ in the group, the source said, adding that the other mothers would not ‘respond to her’ when she sent links or ‘fun memes’.

‘She felt forgotten. That is why she decided to call everyone out because she felt jaded by them,’ the source said.

However, the source also acknowledged that Tisdale may need to accept some responsibility for the fallout, having allegedly rubbed members of the mom group the wrong way.

‘The reason why Ashley is so well known for her character as Sharpay Evans in High School Musical is because that is who she is in real life,’ the source said.

‘Viewed as self-centered and over the top but at the same degree also misunderstood, she is an easy person to get along with at first but then becomes a little more difficult as you get to know.’

This development echoes a similar statement made by Duff’s husband, musician Matthew Koma, who this week slammed Tisdale on Instagram, calling her ‘self-obsessed’ and ‘tone deaf’. 

Koma, 38, poked fun at Tisdale’s essay by posting a mock headline that read: ‘When You’re the Most Self Obsessed Tone Deaf Person on Earth, Other Moms Tend to Shift Focus to Their Actual Toddlers.’

He also photoshopped his own head onto the portrait of Tisdale that had accompanied her article in The Cut.

All this back and forth drama, our source explained, means that Tisdale’s original intent with the essay – to help other mothers struggling with similar friendship dynamics – has been overshadowed.

‘It is a double edged sword as she believes with people attacking her, like Hilary Duff’s husband, it shows that they are in the wrong, even though they are trying to prove she is in the wrong. It is very messy,’ the source said.

‘Ashley tried to quell the heat by denying it was about Hilary and that group, but now it is so obvious that it was about them, and she is trying to figure out how to get away from drama.

‘She is considering taking a break from social media. Fans and critics alike are now talking negatively about her. It is all becoming a bit too much for her to handle right now.’

Duff’s husband, musician Matthew Koma, this week slammed Tisdale on Instagram, calling her ‘self-obsessed’ and ‘tone deaf’

Koma, 38, poked fun at Tisdale’s essay by posting a mock headline that read: ‘When You’re the Most Self Obsessed Tone Deaf Person on Earth, Other Moms Tend to Shift Focus to Their Actual Toddlers’ (pictured in 2025)

Tisdale, pictured with Duff in 2011, said she began to notice she wasn’t invited to some of the mom group’s gatherings, which she had later seen photos of on Instagram

Both Moore and Duff have yet to publicly comment on the drama, despite the latter’s husband coming to her defense on Instagram. 

However, Moore did give Koma a special shoutout on her own Instagram on Wednesday, calling him ‘one of the most talented and generous humans I’m lucky to know.’

As for Meghan Trainor, the All About That Bass singer hasn’t publicly acknowledged Tisdale’s essay either, but a second source close to the singer candidly told the Daily Mail: ‘I can’t imagine Meghan gives two s***s about it. She’s too busy being a mom to worry that other moms may get their feelings hurt.’

Duff, who is a mom of four, and Moore, who has three children, have been close friends for many years. 

Both have spoken openly about the support they have felt from their wider mom group. In a 2022 interview with InStyle magazine, Moore said: ‘We all just gathered earlier this week and had dinner and we have baby classes together and it’s incredible.

‘It’s so much fun. I’m very, very grateful to have those resources and just incredible women to be able to lean on. We’re all kind of going through this chapter of our lives together.’ 

Moore and her husband Taylor Goldsmith share three children: sons August and Oscar, and daughter Louise (pictured December 2024)

Singer Meghan Trainor and husband Daryl Sabara (pictured in August 2024) have sons Riley and Barry

In December 2024, Duff returned the praise in an interview with People magazine. 

‘I feel like our big connection to one another, even though we’re pop stars or on TV, is we love our kids,’ the Lizzie McGuire star said.

‘They were little baby worms when we all first got together and started music class at my house. Now, we’re in art class together, and we’re in gymnastics class together, and we’re just, like, moms.

‘I actually really wonder if, when the kids are older, they’re all still going to be friends, and if it’s going to be helpful having friends [whose] parents are somewhat in the public eye.’

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Tisdale, Trainor, Duff and Moore for comment.