Just a day after Ashley Tisdale spoke out about her experience with a “toxic” celebrity mom group, Hilary Duff’s husband, Matthew Koma, appeared to fire back with a savage response.
On Tuesday, January 6, Matthew shared a post that many online found “distasteful,” with several accusing him of outright trolling the High School Musical alum, and even dubbing him a “mean girl.”
Highlights
- Matthew Koma sparked backlash after posting a mocking Instagram Story widely perceived as a response to Ashley Tisdale’s viral “toxic” celebrity mom group essay.
- Koma referred to Ashley as a “tone-deaf person” amid the controversy sparked by her essay.
- Fans debated whether the musician’s reaction “confirmed” his wife Hilary Duff’s alleged involvement in the mom group.
While Ashley avoided naming names, internet sleuths quickly linked her allegations to several well-known celebrity moms, including Hilary Duff, Mandy Moore, and Meghan Trainor.
“And his response tells me everything I need to know so basically Ashley was right,” one user wrote, while another added, “He shouldn’t have said anything…”
Hilary Duff’s husband, Matthew Koma, took a vicious jab at Ashley Tisdale yesterday in a scathing Instagram Story
Image credits: matthewkoma
Ashley Tisdale recently opened up about her experience of repeatedly being excluded from the “mom group’s” hangouts and group chats, saying it made her feel like she was back in high school.
In a candid personal essay published in The Cut, she noted that the group dynamic “stopped being healthy and positive” and that she eventually texted them, “This is too high school for me, and I don’t want to take part in it anymore.”
She recalled spending nights alone after putting her daughters to bed, questioning what she had done wrong to be excluded by people she considered friends.
Image credits: ashleytisdalefrench
The actress described feeling “totally lost” and emotionally exhausted as she noticed social media posts showing group gatherings she hadn’t been invited to.
The 40-year-old mom of two stated that while some members of the mom group attempted damage control, others tried to convince her that she was the one choosing not to attend the group’s gatherings.
The 38-year-old musician cryptically referred to Tisdale as “the most self-obsessed, tone-deaf person on earth”
Image credits: meghantrainor
She also revealed discovering group chats that didn’t include everyone and said that after repeatedly seeing photos of the group spending time together without her, it became impossible to ignore the message being sent.
Shortly after the essay gained momentum online, Matthew Koma shared an Instagram Story featuring a photo of his face photoshopped onto Tisdale’s body.
Image credits: ashleytisdalefrench
The image mimicked Ashley’s original essay cover, with Koma sitting in the same pose on a couch and the headline altered to read, “A mom group tell-all through a father’s eyes.”
It continued, “When you’re the most self-obsessed tone-deaf person on earth, other moms tend to shift focus to their actual toddlers.”
"Read my new interview with @TheCut," the 38-year-old singer-songwriter captioned the image.
Image credits: matthewkoma
However, Koma’s move appeared to backfire, as social media users pointed out that Ashley had not named any celebrities in her essay, nor had his wife, Hilary Duff, publicly addressed the “toxic” mom group allegations.
One person wrote, “Okay well Hilary Duff’s husband kinda just confirmed that his wife was in fact the mean girl.”
Matthew’s mockery of the Young & Hungry star sparked a heated online debate over whether he had “confirmed” his wife’s alleged involvement
Image credits: matthewkoma
Another commented, “Real man stay out of women drama. If Hilary wants this addressed then she or her reps can do that. Husband needs to b*tt out.”
A third chimed in, “Emotional maturity of a 10 year old. Says a lot about the wife and makes Ashley’s story more credible.”
“I think that the man needs to leave the conversation. Besides, as someone who has experienced and still experiences bullying, I don’t blame her for leaving a toxic situation.”
Image credits: ashleytisdalefrench
While speculation has been rife that the Aliens in the Attic star’s essay referenced Hilary, Mandy Moore, and possibly even Meghan Trainor, Ashley still follows the latter on Instagram and has unfollowed Hilary and Mandy.
A more far-fetched theory circulating online also linked the fallout to alleged political differences, claiming Ashley had shifted toward more conservative views that supposedly clashed with the others’ more liberal stances.
Image credits: whatsgabycookin
However, a representative for Tisdale later set the record straight regarding her intentions, and her political views, in a statement to TMZ.
The spokesperson told the outlet that the piece was not about Mandy, Hilary, or Meghan, adding that it was being “twisted into clickbait.”
The drama erupted shortly after Ashley’s now-viral The Cut essay detailing her experience of being part of a “toxic” celebrity mom group
They also stated that there is “zero truth” to the political rumors, clarifying that Ashley is a registered Democrat, just like the other women in the speculated friend group.
However, Matthew’s actions left some unconvinced by the representative’s statement, with one person commenting, “Didn’t he just rat his wife out then? ’Cause I think Ashley put out a statement saying she wasn’t talking directly about Hilary.”
Image credits: ashleytisdalefrench
Others echoed similar sentiments, writing, “Hilary is known for being a huge bully, and so is Mandy Moore. This isn’t surprising…”
While Koma’s Instagram jab has reignited the controversial “bullying” debate surrounding the mom group, Ashley has yet to respond to his mockery.
Image credits: meghantrainor
Meanwhile, Tisdale’s husband, composer Christopher French, whom she married in 2014 and shares two daughters, Jupiter Iris French and Emerson Clover French, with, has not publicly commented on the situation, unlike Matthew.
“This is what happens when you take a situation that could have been handled privately and make it public,” one netizen reacted
