Hilary Duff has shared her feelings about Ashley Tisdale's essay on cutting ties with a toxic mom group, which some fans linked to her. On the Call Her Daddy podcast, Duff expressed that the timing felt off and made her feel used. She emphasized that the essay's claims were not accurate.
Hilary Duff, the 38-year-old actress and singer, recently spoke on the Call Her Daddy podcast about Ashley Tisdale's essay published in The Cut last month. Tisdale, known from High School Musical, described 'breaking up' with a group of mom friends due to mean-girl behavior and feelings of exclusion. Fans speculated that Duff was part of this group, a connection Duff acknowledged by saying, 'I don’t really think people had to connect very many dots, do you?'
Duff revealed she felt 'used' by the essay's timing, which coincided with her musical comeback. She released her first album in over 10 years, Luck... Or Something, earlier this month. 'I think it came at like the craziest time where I was, like … the timing felt not great, and I felt used,' Duff stated. She described feeling 'really sad' and 'taken aback,' insisting the claims weren't true. With four kids, Duff maintains a core group of friends from 10 to 20 years ago and various mom friend circles. 'It sucks to read something that’s not true, and it sucks on behalf of, like, six women and all of their lives,' she added.
Tisdale first raised the issue in a blog post, noting how mom groups can turn toxic through dynamics like exclusive group texts and uninvited hangouts. In her essay, she detailed specific instances, such as being left out of group hangs visible on Instagram and sitting at the end of the table at a dinner party, leading to a sense of being frozen out.
Duff has not sought to clarify specifics but highlighted the impact on multiple women involved. So, is this just a case of misinterpreted tea, or is there more to spill?