Ashley Tisdale is not living the sweet life.
Hours after publishing a scathing essay calling out her alleged ‘toxic’ mom group, Tisdale found herself accused of being the problem as her behavior was publicly picked apart.
Matthew Koma, the husband of Hilary Duff – one of the celeb moms in the aforementioned group – branded Tisdale ‘self-obsessed and ‘tone deaf’ in a satirical post criticizing her essay for The Cut.
Then, a podcast episode resurfaced featuring Disney Channel alum Anneliese van der Pol recalling an ‘uncomfortable’ interaction she once had with the High School Musical star, 40, when the former worked as a waitress.
‘I want to say she was lovely, but …’ said the That’s So Raven alum, 41, of Tisdale before then taking a sip of her drink.
On Friday, Tisdale was spotted walking all alone and ‘kept silent’ when paparazzi tried to ask her about the media uproar, per photos the Daily Mail obtained.
Now, an attorney who represented a woman who sued Tisdale over a 2022 car accident has weighed in on the matter, claiming he is ‘absolutely not shocked’ about her fallout with her friends.
‘She was extremely rude,’ lawyer Michael Parker recalled of Tisdale’s interactions with his client Lina Gonzales in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail.
Ashley Tisdale was spotted walking solo in Malibu, California, on Friday following the fallout from her scathing essay about her ‘toxic’ mom friend group
The actress took a phone call while sporting a casual outfit that consisted of sunglasses, a tan sweatshirt that said Malibu on it, black leggings, bright blue ankle socks and sneakers
Tisdale has not issued a statement about the media uproar her essay for The Cut has caused and reportedly dodged paparazzi’s questions on the matter and ‘kept silent’
Lawyer Michael Parker told the Daily Mail that he is ‘not shocked’ that Tisdale had a fallout with her mom group, which featured Hilary Duff, Mandy Moore and Meghan Trainor (pictured), who took a photo from happier times with the group
Hilary Duff’s husband, Matthew Koma, wrote via Instagram that Tisdale was ‘self-obsessed’ and ‘tone deaf’ after his wife was subtly called out in the Cut essay
Gonzales sued the former child star in 2023 after the two were involved in a car crash at Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in Los Angeles on September 6, 2022.
Per court documents obtained by the Daily Mail, Gonzales sought damages after she allegedly sustained injuries to her shoulders, neck, back and left wrist.
She claimed in the complaint that Tisdale had an uncooperative attitude from the start and dismissively told her at the scene that ‘”her manager” would be in contact with her to discuss the accident.’
Tisdale denied all allegations in a response to the court, which Daily Mail obtained.
Parker, however, agreed that Tisdale allegedly acted like a Hollywood snob toward Gonzales, and claimed to the Daily Mail that his client didn’t even know the former was a celebrity.
Gonzales, who was 26 at the time of the accident, decided to still move forward with the suit. Per her complaint, she claimed she had not received any calls from Tisdale’s manager so she posted what she claimed happened on social media at the time.
‘Plaintiff took to social media to post about the accident, and the displeasure of not receiving a response from Defendant or her manager,’ the filing states.
‘The post included photos from the accident including the damage to the vehicles; however, no private information was revealed.’
Tisdale starred on Disney’s High School Musical alongside actors like Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron (pictured with the cast in 2006), but Gonzales allegedly did not know Tisdale was famous at the time of the crash
Parker claimed to the Daily Mail that Tisdale (pictured) acted like a Hollywood snob to his client
When Gonzales did this, she claimed in her complaint that Tisdale’s husband, Christopher French, doxxed her to his followers on social media. Doxxing is the act of publicly sharing someone’s private, identifying information. French has 122,000 followers to date, but his wife has more than 16 million.
‘The spouse of Defendant took to social media and posted that Plaintiff was a “registered nurse who worked at Cedar Sinai,” who “commit[ted] insurance fraud,”‘ Gonzales’ lawyer alleged in her complaint.
The Daily Mail did not obtain a copy of French’s alleged social media post and he did not return our request for comment. Neither French nor Tisdale appear to have addressed this claim in publications or via social media.
Parker told us Tisdale’s husband’s alleged actions made his client feel ‘very unsafe.’
‘When you’re just a regular person and a celebrity has it out for you, it’s really scary – especially when they’re posting on social media and they have millions of followers,’ he added.
‘There are so many psychos on the internet. Once someone’s name is out there and where they work, it’s easy to get their phone number, email, their home [address].’
Parker pointed out that when French allegedly blasted Gonzales online, her name was already part of the public docket and easily accessible, making her vulnerable to any ‘deranged fan.’
Gonzales alleged in her complaint that Tisdale’s husband, Christopher French, doxed her on social media in retaliation for posts she had shared online
‘You could just look up who sued Ashley Tisdale and say, “Ok, well her husband is saying this person is committing fraud, they work at this hospital, etc.” [Lina] definitely felt her safety was in danger. I mean, she was definitely scared,’ he said.
Per the docket, Tisdale tried to file a restraining order against Gonzales, citing she felt she was at risk of suffering ‘unwanted annoyance or embarrassment.’ However, it was ultimately denied.
The car crash suit settled in December 2024 for an undisclosed amount and the details of the agreement are confidential. The case did not go to trial.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Tisdale’s representatives and lawyer for comment on Parker’s comments and the resurfaced lawsuit claims but has not heard back.
Gonzales’ accident took place three years after Tisdale was involved in another fender bender. In 2019, actor Kevin Smith – who was her neighbor – hit her vehicle.
Much like with her recent Cut article, Tisdale used a public forum to air her grievances.
‘Thanks @ThatKevinSmith for scratching my mirror on my car and not stopping. Classy move neighbor!’ she wrote on X at the time.
Smith, 55, immediately apologized on the social media platform, then known as Twitter, before explaining: ‘I did do a courtesy stop. Then when you pulled away first.’
Parker (pictured) told the Daily Mail of his client’s case: ‘When you’re just a regular person and a celebrity has it out for you, it’s really scary’
Tisdale once also called out actor Kevin Smith, 55, over a fender bender in 2019 – but then apologized for doing so
The Clerks director, who is known for his comedy, then quipped, ‘I was like That’s soooo Sharpay…,’ referencing Tisdale’s famous High School Musical character.
The short-lived spat between Tisdale and Smith did not last long, with Smith soon revealing via X that she had gone to his house to apologize because she felt bad about calling him out online.
The feeling of regret is reminiscent of how Tisdale responded after blasting her mom friend group. In an apparent attempt to quiet the noise, her reps told TMZ the essay was not about the group involving Duff, Mandy Moore, Meghan Trainor and others.
Instead, they claimed the article was about ‘being shut out of social hangs so hard from a completely different group of friends.’
Tisdale wrote via The Cut: ‘I was starting to feel frozen out of the group, noticing every way that they seemed to exclude me. At first, I tried not to take things personally.’
However, after feeling left out on too many occasions, she texted them: ‘This is too high school for me and I don’t want to take part in it anymore.’
Despite what Tisdale’s team said, Duff’s husband’s Instagram Story more than confirmed the Disney alum was indeed blasting his wife and her gal pals.
Tisdale also recently unfollowed Duff, 38, and Moore, 41, on Instagram.
Meanwhile, French – who has been married to Tisdale since 2014 and shares two kids with her – has seemingly decided to take the high road this time, sharing a post this week that read: ‘Underrated life skill: Pausing to decide if it’s worth your energy.’
