United Kingdom, Jan. 8 -- Hilary Duff and Mandy Moore reportedly feel "blindsided" by Ashley Tisdale's controversial essay.

The 40-year-old star previously penned an essay about leaving behind a "toxic" mom group, and the comments are said to have surprised the likes of Hilary and Mandy.

A source told Us Weekly: "They all feel blindsided and hurt by Ashley speaking out the way she did.

"From their perspective, they believed the group was supportive and coming from a good place, and they never thought there was any bad intent behind how things played out."

The group felt like "issues that could've been handled privately were instead made public, which made them feel unfairly portrayed".

The insider added: "The moms insist there was no...