The singer said that it “sucks to read something that’s not true and it sucks on behalf of like six women and all of their lives.”

Hilary Duff addresses Ashley Tisdale’s essay on mom group drama: ‘I felt used’

The singer said that it "sucks to read something that's not true and it sucks on behalf of like six women and all of their lives."

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and *NME*.

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February 26, 2026 5:30 p.m. ET

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Hilary Duff in October 2025 in Los Angeles; Ashley Tisdale in May 2025 in New York City. Credit:

Stefanie Keenan/Oscars/Getty; Bryan Bedder/Getty

Hilary Duff is breaking her silence on Ashley Tisdale French’s viral “toxic” mom group essay.

The “So Yesterday” singer opened up about her experience being swept up in the whirlwind drama surrounding Tisdale French’s personal essay on a recent episode of the *Call Her Daddy* podcast.

**“**I felt really sad. I honestly felt really sad,” Duff said of the situation. “I was pretty taken aback and felt just sad.”

Hilary Duff in 2024 in Bel Air, Calif.

Frazer Harrison/Getty

In her Jan. 1 essay for The Cut, Tisdale French wrote about exiting a mom group after it “stopped being healthy and positive" for her. Following its publication, the internet began to speculate over the potential members of the *High School Musical* star’s former friend group, with many pointing out that Duff posted images of herself, Tisdale French, Mandy Moore, and Meghan Trainor on Instagram in 2021.

Speaking on the *Call Her Daddy* podcast, Duff explained that she’s been “lucky” to have many friend groups in her life.

“I have my core group of friends who have been my ride or die for 10 to 20 years,” she explained, “and I have tons of different groups of mom friends, because I have four kids, you know?”

Ashley Tisdale in 2023 in Los Angeles.

Phillip Faraone/Getty

Still, that didn’t make Tisdale French’s essay any easier to read.

“So, I think I just was like, ‘Whoa,’” she said. “It sucks to read something that's not true, and it sucks on behalf of, like, six women and all of their lives.”

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Duff’s husband, singer-songwriter Matthew Koma, also made headlines amid the mom group drama when he posted a photo of his face imposed over Tisdale French’s on social media.

"Read my new interview with [*The Cut*]. A mom group tell-all through a father's eyes,” he captioned the since-deleted image. “When you're the most self obsessed tone deaf person on earth, other moms tend to shift focus to their actual toddlers.”

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Duff denied knowing that her husband was going to post the photo.

“No. Honestly, everything he does makes me laugh. So I was like, ‘Oh, my God. Oh, my God,’” she recalled. “But I also don't censor him, and I don't tell him what he can and can't post. He is so fierce for me, and I love him for that.”

When asked by host Alex Cooper if there was anything she wanted to clarify about the entire situation, Duff simply replied, “Nope. I think it came at like the craziest time where I was like, the timing felt not great, and I felt used.”

Listen to Duff talk mom group drama in the clip above.

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