Crystal Minkoff, a former member of the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” cast, dished on her experience with Ashley Tisdale’s “toxic” mom group. On her podcast “Humble Brag with Crystal and Cynthia,” Minkoff spoke with Tracy Tutor, a real estate agent starring on “Million Dollar Listing,” about her own time with Tisdale’s former friends.
Calling Tutor the “perfect person” to speak about Tisdale’s essay, which was published in The Cut on January 1, Minkoff explained that the piece had gone viral over the past two weeks.
“I don’t know if she thought that it wasn’t gonna be this big, but it’s everywhere,” said Minkoff.
Minkoff’s Time with the Moms
Minkoff began by revealing that she knows “about 70%” of Tisdale’s former group because their children all attended the same preschool. “One went to the same high school as us,” she added.
Minkoff emphasized that she wanted to protect the privacy of the other mothers while sharing her story and the “tea.” However, she was willing to name drop, claiming that some of the group’s members include stars like Hilary Duff and Meghan Trainor.
“It is a super celeb group, there’s only like eight of them,” she teased. She added a few first names to the list, such as Jenna and Kelsey, without further specifying their identities. Minkoff said that Tisdale’s publicist wrote that the aforementioned women are not the group that the “High School Musical” alum wrote about.
“But it’s the group,” claimed Minkoff.
“Ashley’s story was that she left the group, but my story is I didn’t leave the group. I did the show…and they all went against me and dropped me,” she said. She explained Tisdale’s difficulties with the other mothers to Tutor, such as group dinners and trips where she wasn’t included.
“I remember those trips…I remember there was [sic] issues then,” continued the “RHOBH” star. However, she noted that she “didn’t know” all of the mothers involved.
“It’s hard to always include everybody,” she admitted, “But, I do think that if that was happening to her, she wasn’t reading it wrong. You know if you’re being pushed out.”
Minkoff reached out to one of the moms involved, who said that it was “ironic” that Tisdale was calling the group “toxic” while she was “on her own.”
Minkoff responded that she, too, had been “on her own” when outcast from the larger group. However, she said that she had “mixed feelings” about the situation as a whole. She explained that she “knows this group” but is not close with Tisdale.
“I’ve met Ashley a couple times, but I don’t know her at all,” Minkoff said, adding that she thinks Tisdale has taken the brunt of the criticism following her essay’s publication.
“She’s getting 90% hate,” she said, positing that the public reacted negatively to Tisdale’s article because they “love” alleged members of the group like Duff.
While Tutor called the drama “cyclical,” Minkoff referred to the situation “so 2021” in a post on Threads.
Ashley Tisdale’s Original Essay
Tisdale’s article, “Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group,” told the actress’ experience with a group of mothers that she initially believed were her intimate friends.
“After the birth of my first daughter, I was craving connection with other mothers,” she wrote. She felt “lucky” when a friend introduced her to a group of fellow new mothers.
She recalled missed events and gatherings that she was not invited to, adding that she had seen this behavior happen with another mom.
“It seemed that this group had a pattern of leaving someone out. And that someone had become me,” she continued.
Tisdale concluded the piece with positive advice for new mothers: to find a group with whom they feel like they truly belong.
“You deserve to go through motherhood with people who actually, you know, like you.”
