Overview
- A 2023 podcast clip shows van der Pol recalling she served Ashley Tisdale while waitressing in New York and found the encounter "so uncomfortable."
- Van der Pol has said she waited tables for about a year at several New York restaurants, including Tavern on the Green, after her early Disney career.
- Tisdale’s January 2026 essay about leaving a "toxic" mom friend group went viral, with her writing that she felt excluded by the group.
- Entertainment outlets report Tisdale has not addressed van der Pol’s anecdote, and her representative denies the essay was about a specific celebrity circle.
- Social media reactions continue, including a now-deleted mocking post from musician Matthew Koma and commentary from Christy Carlson Romano, as online debate over the resurfaced clip grows.