Chelsea Handler defended her “amazing” and “kind” friend Mandy Moore after Ashley Tisdale’s “toxic” mom group essay went viral.
The comedian appeared on Page Six Radio on Wednesday, where co-hosts Danny Murphy and Evan Real filled her in on all things social media with a group of celebrities that also included stars Hilary Duff and Meghan Trainor.
“I don’t know what happened, but I know Mandy Moore and she’s a wonderful, kind person,” Handler said. “So, let me just say this: I don’t know much about Ashley Tisdale.”
“And I don’t mean it with the kind of disdain I just said,” she insisted. “But I don’t know Ashley Tisdale, so I want to be transparent. And I also like Meghan Trainor.”
Handler also revealed that he is a fan of Duff.
“I love seeing Hilary Duff in stories. I don’t know why, but I find myself drawn to storylines that include her.”
When Real brought up speculation that it might be because the mom group is a Democrat and Tisdale is a Republican, Handler, 50, simply said, “Well, that’s fine. That’s all I wanted to know.”
Handler said she has “never been part of a mom group” and “I think it’s terrible.”
“That’s another reason not to have children,” she quipped. “I can’t believe I have to deal with that problem.”
“You finish school, you become a mother, you have to deal with that dynamic of being excluded again as an adult woman. No, thank you.”
Tisdale ignited the mom drama when she penned a scathing essay in the Jan. 1 issue of The Cut. There, she claimed that she was constantly excluded from group hangouts and ultimately decided to leave her friend group because they were “too high school” for her.
Ms Tisdale, who has daughters Jupiter, 4, and Emerson, 1, with husband Christopher French, later revealed in a personal blog post that she felt “exhausted” by the experience.
The former Disney Channel star did not name the mother she blamed for her “nasty girl behavior” but appeared to unfollow Duff, 38, and Moore, 41, on Instagram. However, Traynor, 32, still follows her.
Duff’s husband admitted on Tuesday that Tisdale was dissing his wife and her group of friends when she posted a fake mock-up photo of herself on the cover of New York Magazine’s The Cut on her Instagram Story.
His fake headline read, “Mom Group Tells Everything Through Dad’s Eyes: When You’re the Most Self-centered Tone-Deaf on the Planet, Other Mothers Tend to Shift Their Focus to Their Actual Toddlers.”
He added a sarcastic caption: “Read our new interview with @thecut.”
And clothing designer Sami Ryan, a member of the mom group, also appeared to respond to Tisdale’s essay with a sharp post on social media on Tuesday.
She reposted a clip of a man opening a door while lip-syncing the lyrics to Megan Thee Stallion’s “Her.” Its lyrics include, “I don’t care if these bitches don’t like me ’cause I’m pretty as fuck.”
Representatives for Tisdale have not responded to Page Six’s numerous requests for comment.
