Meghan Trainor Addresses Ashley Tisdale’s ‘Toxic Mom Group’ Essay
Meghan Trainor and Ashley Tisdale French have cleared the air after the internet exploded over Ashley’s essay detailing a difficult experience within a celebrity mom group. Trainor, 32, recently spoke exclusively to Us Weekly while promoting her seventh album, Toy With Me (out April 24), and her upcoming Get In Girl Tour, expressing empathy for Tisdale and attributing the drama to miscommunication.
“I felt bad for Ashley,” Trainor shared. “I felt bad that she was ever that sad, and I think it was just a lot of miscommunication and confusion. I don’t know what happened, but I wish them all the best.”
The Essay That Sparked the Conversation
In January, Ashley French, 40, published a candid essay for The Cut titled, “Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group,” detailing feelings of exclusion and her decision to leave the group via text. While French didn’t name names, speculation quickly arose that the essay referenced Trainor, Hilary Duff, and Mandy Moore, as French had been known to socialize with them.
Trainor recalled receiving a text from Tisdale apologizing for her name being brought into the situation. “Ashley texted me like, ‘I’m sorry, your name got dragged in.’ And I was like, ‘It’s all right, girl, like, the world’s a silly, crazy place, and they just want something to talk about.’”
A TikTok Response and a Lack of Awareness
Following the essay’s viral spread, Trainor posted a TikTok video, set to her song “Still Don’t Care” from Toy With Me, playfully suggesting she was unaware of the extent of the drama. The video showed her typing on a computer and sipping coffee, with the caption: “Me finding out about the apparent mom group drama.”
Trainor explained to Us Weekly that she hadn’t seen French or the other moms in a while, jokingly referring to herself as a “bad mom friend.” She admitted to missing many of the group’s “awesome” events, even offering to pay for dinner a year ago as an apology for her absence.
Navigating Group Dynamics and Public Scrutiny
“There was a group chat, but, like, eventually they started a group chat without me because I wasn’t there. And I was like, ‘That’s totally fine,’” Trainor explained. “And we were all good, and then [the essay] popped up, and I was like, ‘What?’ … And I just saw my face everywhere, and [I was like,] ‘Wait a second, I am not even there.’”
Trainor also mentioned receiving apologies from other members of the group after her name was mentioned. She acknowledged the difficult situation for everyone involved, stating, “It was a nightmare for a lot of moms in that group. I felt really, really bad. And like, I’m used to [the hate]. … So I said, ‘Don’t worry, guys, it’s all on me.’ But some moms don’t want to be famous [or] never wanted attention on them at all, and they were like, ‘I was un-Googleable, and now I’m everywhere, and I’m devastated.’”
The Desire for Female Friendship
Despite the drama, Trainor expressed a longing for a supportive group of mom friends. “I could use one right now,” she admitted, acknowledging the challenges of balancing her career and motherhood to sons Riley, 5, and Barry, 2, and daughter Mikey Moon, born via surrogate in January. Finding time for friendships, she noted, is particularly difficult “in this season of life.”
Trainor’s latest single, “Get in Girl,” reflects this desire for a reliable friend. “That’s kind of what I dream of, is some girl pulling up being like, ‘Let’s go shopping. F*** all this.’ Like, ‘Let’s get out of here.’”
