Mandy Moore has been spotted in public for the first time since a controversy involving an alleged 'toxic mum group', ignited by fellow actress Ashley Tisdale, swept across social media. The 41-year-old star, rumoured to be part of the circle Tisdale criticised, made no mention of the drama during her appearance on Saturday evening.
A Musical Return to 'This Is Us'
Instead, Moore took to the stage for a live podcast recording focused on the music from her acclaimed television series, This Is Us. The event, captured in exclusive photos and videos obtained by the Daily Mail, saw Moore joined by her husband, musician Taylor Goldsmith. Together, they discussed crafting the show's most memorable tunes before delivering a live performance.
She was accompanied by the series creator Dan Fogelman and composer Siddhartha Khosla, alongside her podcast co-hosts and former co-stars Sterling K. Brown and Chris Sullivan. Following the discussion, Moore gave an acoustic performance of Invisible Ink (Rebecca's Demo), with Goldsmith on guitar and backing vocals.
Cast Reunion Overshadowed by Feud
The evening featured several musical numbers from the This Is Us cast. Hannah Zeile performed Where I Belong, Blake Stadnik sang Memorized, and Chris Sullivan performed his song Messiah Moon under his stage name Joseph the Spouse. Sterling K. Brown performed his Career Day song, titled If You've Got a Farm, before reintroducing Moore for a rendition of the ballad The Forever Now.
This public appearance comes nearly two weeks after the 'toxic mum group' drama, instigated by Ashley Tisdale, erupted online. Moore was previously pictured in a group photo with Tisdale, pop star Meghan Trainor, and former Disney star Hilary Duff, who are all speculated to be part of the circle in question.
The Roots of the 'Toxic Mum Group' Controversy
Earlier this month, Disney alum Ashley Tisdale published an essay for The Cut titled 'Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group.' In the article, Tisdale claimed she felt 'frozen out' by the group during her postpartum period, drawing comparisons to high school cliques. She wrote about being left out of gatherings, stating, "All of a sudden I was in high school again, feeling totally lost as to what I was doing 'wrong' to be left out."
While Tisdale did not name anyone directly, fans noted she unfollowed both Hilary Duff and Mandy Moore on Instagram around the time the article was published. Duff's husband, Matthew Koma, seemingly confirmed their involvement by mockingly recreating Tisdale's article cover, calling her 'tone deaf.'
Meghan Trainor denied involvement by sharing a confused reaction on TikTok. Moore, however, had not addressed the drama directly until a social media post on Thursday, January 8, where she reshared Koma's post and called him "one [of] the most talented and generous humans I’m lucky to know." Her appearance at the podcast taping marks her first physical outing since the backlash began.
