Mandy Moore is averse to being embroiled in drama. Five months after Ashley Tisdale penned a viral essay about leaving what she termed a "toxic" mom group that fans suspected included Mandy, Hilary Duff, and Meghan Trainor, the This Is Us alum contrasted the fallout with other criticized moments from her life in the spotlight. "This was something entirely different and decidedly way more distressing," Mandy said during the May 18 episode of SiriusXM's Andy Cohen Live. "The most important thing in my life is being a kind person, and that legacy of kindness. Anyone even insinuating that that might not be the case—and with the company that I choose to keep—is extremely distressing."
Although Ashley's essay didn't name anyone from the group explicitly, her past pictures of quality time with Mandy, Hilary, and Meghan prompted fans to believe she was referring to them when she wrote that her "village of moms" had gone from "lifeline to landmine." Initially shocked, Mandy emphasized that she would have been more than willing to work through any tension.
"I'm someone who is really scared by confrontation," the 42-year-old continued, "but also, when it's important, I am a huge proponent of having a conversation if my feelings are hurt or there's something I need to get off my chest—face-to-face." The Tangled actress added, "It's not always the most comfortable of situations, but that's where I differed in feeling like I wouldn't have handled the situation this way."
Mandy also found the drama surrounding Ashley's piece distressing because of its impact on how women are perceived. "It just perpetuates this silly trope that women can't be supportive of one another," she shared. "And that we're inherently petty and that we're inherently out to one-up each other. I have not felt that one iota since becoming a parent."
In fact, Mandy—mom to kids Gus, 5, Ozzie, 3, and Lou, 20 months, with husband Taylor Goldsmith—added, "I've actually been so surprised by the meaningful relationships I found with other moms and other parents just in general." And at the end of the day, Mandy is most passionate about supporting her fellow parents. "That has always been my takeaway," she noted. "You need that, you need community. You need to find that support wherever you can get it. You need to be able to talk about all of that."
