Hilary Duff comments on ‘toxic mom group’ controversy: ‘The timing felt not great’

After Ashley Tisdale published her notorious essay about her “toxic mom group,” fans speculated that she was talking about a group that included fellow celebs Hilary Duff, Mandy Moore and Meghan Trainor. Hilary has now responded to the controversy on the new episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast.

While chatting with host Alex Cooper, Hilary was asked how she felt when the essay appeared. “I felt really sad,” she said. “I was pretty taken aback and felt just, like, sad.” 

She added, “I think I just was like, ‘Woah.’ It sucks to read something that’s not true, and it sucks on behalf of, like, six women and all of their lives.”

Hilary further told Alex that she didn’t know her husband, Matthew Koma, was going to respond to Ashley with an Instagram Story in which he wrote the fake headline, “When You’re The Most Self Obsessed Tone Deaf Person On Earth, Other Moms Tend To Shift Focus To Their Actual Toddlers.”

“I was like, ‘Oh my God,'” she laughed. “I don’t tell him what he can and can’t post. He is so, like, fierce for me and, like, I love him for that.”

Hilary then went on to imply that she felt that Ashley had timed the news to coincide with the fact that the Lizzie McGuire star had recently stepped back into the spotlight with new music.

“I think it came at, like, the craziest time. … Like, the timing felt not great,” Hilary explained. “And I felt used.”

“Like, would this have happened had you not had your big resurgence and everything going on with you,” Alex responded. At that point, Hilary smiled and pointed at Alex, as if to say, “You got it.”

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.