singer-songwriter Willa Ford has spoken out in defense of Ashley Tisdale FrenchEx-moms group after Disney Channel student’s viral essay detailing his allegedly “toxic” behavior.
Ford, 44, revealed during an interview with Friday, January 9 Page Six Radio who is a close friend Kelsey Deenihan i Janice Gotttwo mothers who have been photographed hanging out with the 40-year-old Frenchman. Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff i Meghan Trainor they were also known to be part of the group of mothers.
“Kelsey and Janice are ride or die. I went through a divorce. They were women who stood by me, who are wonderful humans in general, not just in business,” Ford said. “My friends didn’t deserve this. They’re not actresses. Their faces didn’t deserve to be plastered.”
Deenihan is a celebrity makeup artist, while Gott is the founder of breast pump company Muu.
Ashley Tisdale French sparked a firestorm with her inner circle of famous moms after she abruptly left the group and proceeded to write an essay about the “toxic” behavior of former friends. “The root of the problems was that some of the women became closer friends with each other, and Ashley started to feel left out (…)
Ford also said that he has met with French, calling the Musical Baccalaureate “so charming” star.
“Everyone has always been nice to me and wonderful to me, so I don’t know what happened (in the group),” he continued. “Bad things can happen. We can make mistakes as people too. Feeling left out is a real feeling. It sucks. We all know that. But I don’t know what happened and I know two of these women very well and I know that bullying is not in their DNA. So I think it would have been good if the communication maybe could have been done in a different way.”
Ford said he believes the issue “will be resolved” despite the public attention.
French made headlines after publishing a Jan. 1 essay by the cut entitled “Breaking up with my group of toxic moms.” She detailed feeling excluded from the group and how she eventually left friendships behind, though she didn’t name anyone in particular in the piece.
“I remember being left out of a couple of group uploads and I knew about it because Instagram made sure to feed me every Instagram photo and story,” she wrote. “I was starting to feel frozen out of the group, noticing all the ways they seemed to exclude me… I told myself it was all in my head, and it wasn’t a big deal. Still, I could feel a growing distance between me and the other members of the group, who didn’t seem to care that I wasn’t around much.”
Ashley, who shares daughters Jupiter, 3, and Emerson, 15 months, with husband Christopher Frenchshe said she eventually texted the group, “This is too high school for me and I don’t want to be involved anymore.”
When the essay went viral, fans speculated that the Frenchman was talking about her moms group with Moore, 41, Duff, 38, and Trainor, 32. However, a rep for the actress denied the rumors in a statement to TMZ.
Ashley Tisdale French’s no-holds-barred comment about being kicked out of a “toxic” mom group has caught the attention of many celebrities. In January 2026, Ashley, who shares two daughters with husband Christopher French, raised eyebrows with an essay for The Cut titled “Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group” as she candidly (…)
An exclusively explained source Us Weekly on Wednesday January 8, that the “root of the problems“In the group it was that ‘some of the women became friends with each other and Ashley started to feel left out.’
“There were times when meet-ups or meet-ups were arranged at the last minute, often casual outings or quick dinners, and Ashley wasn’t included. There was no ill intent. Friendships naturally changed and some people bonded more than others,” the source added, noting that the other moms “didn’t want to exclude her.”
“They felt she made a bigger deal out of everything. The tension came largely from what the group saw as a clash of priorities and values,” the source continued. “There were a lot of bonding moments that Ashley felt she missed.”
So far, Trainor is French’s only celebrity mom friend address the drama directly.
“I found out about the apparent mom group drama,” she captioned a TikTok video on Wednesday. The clip showed Trainor sitting at a desk and typing on a computer, with her 2025 single “Still Don’t Care” playing over the footage.