Mandy Moore was seen being herself on Saturday night amid ongoing drama surrounding a “toxic” mom group she was said to be a part of and called out by fellow star Ashley Tisdale.
The actress and singer joined co-stars and “This Was Us” podcast co-hosts Sterling K. Brown and Chris Sullivan for a live podcast recording to discuss her sitcom “This Is Us” at the Wiltern Venue in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Moore sang on stage with guitar accompaniment from her husband Taylor Goldsmith, and videos and photos of the performance were captured by fans and posted on social media.
Earlier this month, Tisdale, 40, penned a scathing essay for the Cut explaining why she was “breaking up” with an allegedly “toxic” group of mom friends that included not only Moore but also celebrities such as Hilary Duff and Meghan Trainor.
In the article, the “Suite Life of Zack and Cody” alum said she no longer felt “cool enough” after being barred from gatherings with members of her mom group.
“I realized that there were group text chains that didn’t include everyone, which led to the formation of cliques within the larger group,” she argued in the essay.
“And after seeing social media photos of other members joining hangouts they weren’t invited to for the third or fourth time, I felt like I wasn’t really part of the group after all.”
Tisdale said she wondered why she still “showed up for this” because she felt left out.
The essay has since sparked a social media war, with some members and their husbands speaking out and condemning her accusations.
Duff’s husband, Matthew Koma, appeared to mock Tisdale’s Cut essay on his Instagram Stories days after it was published, and appeared to admit that he had been bashing his wife and her friends.
Several women also responded to Tisdale’s questionable essay, including Moore, who made cryptic comments about the drama.
During an appearance on the podcast Conversations with Come, the This Is Us actress asked host Cameron Rodgers if he had ever seen a friendship go in a different direction.
“For example, I have a friend who has older children,” she added. “And now I realize that the people I’m closest to in my life are the people who are at the same stage in my life as my parents.”
Ms Moore, who has sons August, 4, Oscar, 3, and daughter Louise, 16 months, with Goldsmith, said she and some of her friends had children “of the same age” and had “in some ways had to mourn” how their friendships had “changed”.
