In the column Straight Nonsense, columnist Moises Mendez II takes a queer eye to the insanity of straight culture.Ashley Tisdale-French has kept a relatively low radar over the years and hasn't really made any questionable decisions in her career until now. On New Year's Day, she published an essay inThe Cut about leaving a "toxic mom group" that she described as being akin to a high school friend group that would exclude her from activities and outings. But after the essay was published, a deluge of internet theories spread, and her team seems to be scrambling to try to stamp out all the conspiracies about the other members that appeared to have included Hilary Duff, Mandy Moore, and Meghan Trainor and even one suspicion that she might be a Republican after sharing a head-turning Instagram story.In her essay, Tisdale-French said she connected with a group of women because, like her, most of them were pregnant during the pandemic and missed out on forming connections at social activities meant for pregnant mothers. The group shared similarities in running businesses and having careers while learning how to be mothers for the first time. "By the time we started getting together for playdates and got the group chat going, I was certain that Id found my village," she wrote.But as the group started hanging out more, she realized her place in the group was changing, and she felt distant from the rest of the moms. "When everyone else attended a birthday dinner together, I was met with excuses as to why I hadnt been invited," Tisdale-French's essay reads. "I still dont get why I wasnt at the girl hang that they all planned at my daughters birthday."She then compares the group to high school dynamics and, in a text to the group chat, declares that she is done. "To be clear, I have never considered the moms to be bad people. (Maybe one.) But I do think our group dynamic stopped being healthy and positive for me, anyway," she wrote.Within days, her essay became The Cut's most-read story on the site, a title it still holds at the time of publication, but it's because of the absolute shitstorm that's ensued in its wake. Tisdale-French's team attempted to clarify things by sending a statement to TMZ saying that the group that the former Disney star was talking about isn't the one with Duff, Moore, and Trainor, but a different one (even though the only mom group she's ever been pictured with is the one that includes these three celebrities). Her team also debunked the theory that her falling out with the group was actually because she is a Republican. (@) The theory stemmed from a text post she uploaded to her Instagram Story, where she condemned the killing of Charlie Kirk and compared his death to 9/11, writing, "24 years ago feels very different from today. Where we once were united and grieving together as a country, today we see someone die and blame his politics and opinions."She continued, "It shouldnt be controversial to say this, but even when we disagree or find someones views offensive, violence is never the answer." Tisdale-French also wanted to make her own political viewpoints clear, saying that she "stands for equal rights for everyone womens rights, voting rights, LGBTQ+ rights" as well as "protecting reproductive rights and implementing common-sense gun laws.Her team vehemently denied the allegations that she is a secret Republican in their statement to TMZ, saying that she is a registered Democrat, and said that this whole thing was blown out of proportion. Well, it seems some of the women in the group are finding ways to respond without directly commenting on the situation. Duffs husband, Matthew Koma, belittled Tisdale-French's essay and "penned" his own titled, "When You're The Most Self-Obsessed Tone Deaf Person On Earth, Other Moms Tend To Shift Focus To Their Actual Toddlers: A Mom Group Tell All Through A Father's Eyes." (@) Trainor used the opportunity to promote a new song called "Still Don't Care," posting a TikTok in which she is seen typing and looking something up on her computer, with text reading: "Me finding out about the apparent mom group drama." @meghantrainor #stilldontcare There's a small part of me that believes this could all be a PR stunt for Trainor and Duff, who both have new music coming out later this year, with the latter returning to music for the first time in over a decade, so she definitely has a lot riding on this moment. Moore has yet to comment on the drama and has remained silent during the chaos and as of right now, things seem to be subsiding. But drama like this usually doesn't just fade out into the void that is the Internet without at least one more big bang, so we'll all have to keep our eyes peeled for an update on the toxic gossip train, whoops, I mean mom group. Moises Mendez II is a staff writer at Out magazine. Follow him on Instagram @moisesfenty.Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Visit out.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of Out or our parent company, equalpride.