Mandy Moore found Ashley Tisdale’s scathing essay about their alleged “toxic” mom friend group “very upsetting.”
“It’s wild to have anybody talk about your life, and I know Hilary [Duff] has sort of mentioned this to,” Moore said on Andy Cohen’s radio show Monday as she addressed the drama for the first time.
Moore continued, “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.”
The “This Is Us” actress added that Tisdale’s essay, which she wrote for The Cut in January, “just cuts to the core.”
Moore also called out the “High School Musical” alum for “insinuating” that Moore and the other members of the friend group — which includes Duff and Meghan Trainor — are not kind people.
“I’d say that was the biggest takeaway, sort of the shock of like, ‘Wow,’” Moore stated.
While Moore admitted she’s “really scared by confrontation,” she said she’s “a huge proponent” in talking things out in life.
“It’s not always like the most comfortable of situations,” she continued, “but I think that’s where I sort of differed in feeling like I wouldn’t have handled the situation this way.”
The “Tangled” star also said she’s upset Tisdale’s essay “perpetuates this silly trope” that women cannot support each other and are “inherently petty,” which is something the mother of three said she hasn’t experienced since becoming a mom.
Moore added that she’s created “meaningful relationships” with other mom and is grateful for the “community” they have.
Duff, 38, praised Moore for her responds, commenting, “Class Bebe,” under the “Radio Andy” Instagram clip.
In Tisdale’s essay, titled “Breaking Up with My Toxic Mom Group,” she claimed she was excluded from hangouts from her former mom group, which made her feel “not cool enough” and “lost” as to why she was being left out.
Tisdale said she chose to cut ties with the group after the “dynamic stopped being healthy and positive.”
After the essay made headlines, Tisdale’s rep denied that she was talking about Duff, Moore and Trainor, while Duff’s husband, Matthew Koma, slammed Tisdale on social media.
Duff, who has four kids, broke her silence on Tisdale’s essay on “Call Her Daddy” in February, admitting she “felt really sad” about the situation.
The “Lizzie McGuire” alum also said she “was taken aback” by Tisdale’s comments.
