I always appreciate some good internet drama, but I did not think I’d see two early-2000s Disney channel stars start 2026 with a feud. But what — if anything — is *actually* going on between Ashley Tisdale French, Hilary Duff, and the mom group that’s apparently sparked some beef between them?
Growing up, I loved to watch the Disney channel (let’s be so real — I still do!) and would often see Duff and Tisdale (who now goes by her married name, French) on my TV. Whether it was during the day while watching Lizzie McGuire and Phineas and Ferb, or during a movie marathon of High School Musical or A Cinderella Story, these ladies were *the* it girls. And although their Disney days are behind them, it appears Duff and French kept in touch; the two have been seen in photos on each other’s socials with groups of friends for years… until recently.
ICYMI, in December, French wrote a post on her blog By Ashley French regarding her experience in a toxic “mom group.” In the short piece, she wrote about how she felt she was purposely being left out by this group, discussed her decision to leave, and reflected back on that choice. Soon after, French took this piece, fleshed it out into an essay, and shared it on The Cut on Jan. 5.
French didn’t mention anyone by name in either piece, but readers were quick to connect it to a People article from 2024 in which Duff mentioned a group of mom friends, including Mandy Moore, Meghan Trainor, and, yes, French. (Her Campus reached out to French’s team for a comment about who the essay was about, but didn’t hear back in time for publication.)
Although no one from that friend group has publicly responded to French’s essay, one of their spouses sure did! Matthew Koma, Duff’s husband, took to social media on Jan. 6, seemingly to share his thoughts on the piece. In a now-disappeared IG story, Koma seemingly edited himself onto Tisdale’s cover photo from The Cut, and changed the text to read “When You’re The Most Self Obsessed Tone Deaf Person On Earth, Other Moms Tend To Shift Focus To Their Actual Toddlers.” This post has led fans to believe even more strongly that Duff’s friend group was, indeed, the friend group in question. (Her Campus also reached out to Koma and Duff’s teams for comment about French’s essay as well as Koma’s post, but did not hear back in time for publication.)
As of Jan. 7, neither French, Duff, Koma, nor any of the others who are believed to be part of the friend group have publicly commented about this series of events. However, knowing Millennials and their mom groups, this probably won’t be the last fans hear about it.