Hilary Duff’s photos from a getaway in Mexico drew renewed online discussion about an earlier dispute involving actress Ashley Tisdale and a group of mothers she once considered friends. Social media commenters referenced Tisdale’s essay about leaving what she called a toxic mom group, though the essay did not identify its members.
Duff posted pictures from the trip with longtime friends, including actress Mandy Moore, chef Gaby Dalkin and makeup artist Kelsey Deenihan Fisher. Her Instagram post also tagged Whitney Wagner Hartley, Amanda Lillywhite, Janice Gott and Haylee Christine. The group was shown together on a terrace overlooking the ocean, while other images featured Duff at the beach and at the resort.
The group stayed at One&Only Mandarina on Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit coast, according to the source account. Duff’s post caption described the group chat making it to the jungle. The trip followed her 39th birthday on Sept. 28, the account reported.
Some commenters connected the photos to Tisdale. One suggested Tisdale might be upset, while another asked whether the trip was the group outing that had once been discussed in a group chat. Other users pushed back against the renewed attention, with one saying the comments about Tisdale amounted to adult bullying.
The speculation stems from an essay Tisdale published in January in The Cut, titled “Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group.” In it, she described feeling increasingly excluded from gatherings with women she had regarded as close friends. Tisdale wrote that seeing photos and Instagram Stories from get-togethers she had not been invited to added to her awareness of the situation. She recalled telling the group that the dynamic felt too much like high school and that she did not want to take part anymore.
Tisdale did not name the women in the essay. Online users speculated that Duff, Moore and other celebrity mothers might have been involved. But a representative for Tisdale denied that the essay was about Duff, Moore or Meghan Trainor, according to TMZ, as cited in the source account.
Duff also addressed the controversy in an appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast with host Alex Cooper. She said she felt sad about the claims and that it was upsetting to read something she said was untrue. Duff added that the situation affected several women and said she felt used amid a resurgence in her career.
The trip photos do not establish who was involved in the group dispute or whether the women pictured were connected to Tisdale’s account. The source material identifies the renewed discussion as arising from comments on Duff’s post, while noting both that Tisdale did not name anyone and that her representative denied the suggested identifications.
