Ashley Tisdale Slammed For Speaking About ‘High School’ Drama

Ashley Tisdale is opening up about her decision to leave her group of mom friends in her rearview after experiencing “high school” drama.

In an explosive personal essay published by The Cut, Ashley Tisdale took shots at her former friend group, which reportedly included other public figures such as fellow Disney star Hilary Duff, Meghan Trainor, and Mandy Moore.

Tisdale, who rose to fame after starring in Disney productions “Suite Life of Zack and Cody” and “High School Musical,” explained in her personal essay that she was initially excited about finding her “village” of friends after giving birth to her daughter around the same time as the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, over time, the “Phineas and Ferb” actress said she began to feel things were taking a turn, leading her to question whether the women she was spending time with were actually her friends. According to Tisdale, she had been left out of different group events and learned of it through social media.

“Another time, at one of the mom’s dinner parties, I realized where I sat with her — which was at the end of the table, far from the rest of the women,” Tisdale shared. “I was starting to feel frozen out of the group, noticing every way that they seemed to exclude me.”

Tisdale explained that she initially checked herself, realizing that the women in the group can have relationships with each other outside of her. “At first, I tried not to take things personally. It’s not like people aren’t allowed to get together without me — and maybe there were perfectly good reasons that I hadn’t been invited,” she said.

Eventually, though, Tisdale said she had enough and sent the group of moms a scathing text explaining why she was breaking up with them. “This is too high school for me, and I don’t want to take part in it anymore,” she said.

Tisdale added that she never thought poorly of the women except for one. “But I do think our group dynamic stopped being healthy and positive — for me anyway,” she wrote.

Tisdale revealed that after she sent the text to her former friend group, some of the women replied, attempting to smooth things over with insincere apologies. In contrast, others explained that they were unaware of her feelings. Regardless, Tisdale offered encouraging advice to other mothers in her essay.

“Motherhood has enough challenges without having to wonder if the people around you are on your side,” she wrote. “You deserve to go through motherhood with people who actually, you know, like you. And if you have to wonder if they do, here’s the hard-earned lesson I hope you’ll take to heart: It’s not the right group for you. Even if it looks like they’re having the best time on Instagram.”

After Tisdale’s public essay made headlines, social media users have been sharing their reactions, and the overwhelming majority don’t seem to be on the Disney alum’s side.

“If you are ever wondering why you are being excluded from a group and then decide that an appropriate way to handle it is by doing a photo shoot and then write and publish an article about it then the good news is that you may have answered your own question,” a Redditor commented.

Another user wrote, “What I’d say to Ashley is pretty much standard therapy 101: you don’t everybody. Nobody likes everybody. Everybody doesn’t have to like you. If you figure out you’re putting energy into people who don’t, fixing that by seeking more sympathetic company will get you a lot further than complaining about the people who you already know don’t care.”

On X, formerly Twitter, another user added, “What’s way more high school is writing this article knowing how it makes other people and yourself look. You can’t even blame a reporter, lol.”

“I imagine it’s challenging to live a normal life as a celebrity,” another user added. “Everyone is always overthinking their interactions with you and taking steps not to bother you. Probably isolating.”