Ashley Tisdale is turning one of the most popular celebrity friendship stories into a television series. The High School Musical star is working on a new Netflix comedy called Toxic Moms, based on her widely publicized essay about quitting a “toxic” celebrity mom group. The project comes months after her personal story provoked significant internet conjecture about the women’s identities.
According to Deadline, Netflix decided on Toxic Moms for development after a competitive bidding procedure.
Ashley Tisdale is anticipated to appear in the dark comedy and serve as executive producer. She has teamed up with comedian and writer Sabrina Jalees (Mating Season, Search Party), who will write the series, and actress Ali Wong (Beef, Always Be My Maybe), who will serve as an executive producer. Wong may also direct if the show receives a complete series order.
The main plot is around a sleep-deprived new mother who joins an exclusive society of wealthy, seemingly ideal moms before uncovering the group’s evil side. The series examines the question:
“In the isolation of motherhood, how far would you go to taste community?”
After Deadline broke the news, Tisdale acknowledged the connection to her real-life situation by sharing the article on Instagram with the caption:
“I guess we all can be a little toxic.”
According to the journal, the series was inspired by Tisdale’s personal experiences as a mother of two infants.
What happened between Ashley Tisdale and her celebrity mom group?
The Netflix project emerged out of Ashley Tisdale’s viral essay, Breaking Up with My Toxic Mom Group, which was published by The Cut in January following a popular version on her personal Substack.
Tisdale wrote in her post that she joined a mom group to find companionship and support, but she soon witnessed negative relationships developing.
She claimed that specific individuals were often talked about behind their backs, that smaller cliques formed through separate group conversations, and that some mothers, including herself, were repeatedly excluded from gatherings. She claimed that she “started to notice that certain people would get talked about when they weren’t present, and not in a positive way.”
Tisdale recognized the trend was purposeful after repeatedly seeing social media posts of group trips to which she had not been invited. She wrote:
“I realized that there were group text chains that didn’t include everyone, which led to cliques forming within the larger group. And after the third or fourth time of seeing social media photos of everyone else at a hangout that I didn’t get invited to, it felt like I wasn’t really part of the group after all.”
After reflecting on the experience, Ashley Tisdale determined that quitting was the healthiest decision and sent the group a message stating:
“This is too high school for me and I don’t want to take part in it anymore.”
Although Tisdale never publicly identified any of the members of the group, internet users quickly began piecing together old social media posts and photos to connect the Disney actress to a celebrity friend circle that reportedly included Hilary Duff, Mandy Moore, Meghan Trainor, food influencer Gaby Dalkin, and others.
The rumors soon spread on social media, making “Ashley Tisdale toxic moms” one of Google’s most-searched related questions.
Apparent “Toxic Moms” responded to the controversy
Hilary Duff initially kept quiet, but her husband Matthew Koma appeared to comment indirectly on Instagram. He shared an edited image of himself in place of Ashley Tisdale, along with a false The Cut headline that reads:
“When You’re The Most Self Obsessed Tone Deaf Person On Earth, Other Moms Tend To Shift Focus To Their Actual Toddlers.”
With a sub-headline that read:
“A Mom Group Tell All Through A Father’s Eyes.”
He humorously labeled the post.
“Read my new interview with @TheCut.”
Months later, Duff addressed the matter in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. Without addressing Ashley Tisdale, she stated that public conjecture about her friendships is not new.
“This is not new for me. I’ve had this since I was maybe 15 and starting to get followed around by paparazzi.”
She said that online debates are frequently exacerbated by social media and clickbait, making it impossible to distinguish between real reporting and speculation.
Another friend from the group also addressed the viral speculation. Actress Mandy Moore then admitted to being upset by the entire scenario as internet users linked her to Tisdale’s piece. Moore spoke with Andy Cohen and said:
“The most important thing in my life is being a kind person and, like, that legacy of kindness, and anyone even insinuating that that might not be the case and with the company that I choose to keep is very upsetting.”
She added:
“I’d say that was the biggest takeaway, sort of the shock of like, ‘Wow.'”
There have been multiple speculations about why the friendship ended; however, a source later stated that the separation was caused by “a myriad of things” rather than a single occurrence.
The Netflix dark comedy will explore the challenges of modern motherhood, friendship, social acceptance, and exclusion. Ashley Tisdale will be starring in the show.
Stay tuned to Soap Central for more information.
Edited by Zachary D. Lyngdoh