Disney Channel fans who grew up in the early 2000s likely remember the infamous feud between two of the era’s young idols: Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan. Their clash was marked by unexpected drop-ins on each other’s red carpet premieres and even publicly name-dropping each other in interviews.
Though the drama between Duff and Lohan was at the forefront of pop culture between 2000 and 2004, their feud fizzled out as the Cinderella Story star and Freaky Friday actress grew out of their teen years.
Now, as Duff returns to the music world with her first album in a decade, Luck… or Something, she’s looking back at her beef with Lohan and sharing insight into what really went down.
Keep scrolling to see everything to know about Duff and Lohan’s feud:
Why Did Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan Have a Feud?
Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan grew up as two Disney Channel teen queens — the former is known for her roles in the series Lizzie McGuire (2001-2004), Cadet Kelly (2002) and A Cinderella Story (2004), while the latter starred in Freaky Friday (2002) and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004).
While many people have cited Duff and Lohan’s status as industry rivals as a reason for their feud, it’s also worth noting their relationships with late pop star Aaron Carter. Duff and Carter sparked a connection after his appearance on Lizzie McGuire season 1, which was filmed in 2000 and aired on Disney Channel in 2001. The pair dated on and off until 2004.
Amid his relationship with Duff, Carter was also spotted with Lohan in 2002.
“I was dating [Duff] for like a year and a half, and then I just got a little bored, so I went and started getting to know Lindsay, dating Lindsay. Then I didn’t want to do that anymore, so I got back with Hilary,” Carter, who died in 2022, said on The Big Idea With Donny Deutsch in 2005.
According to Duff, however, there may have been an overlap in Carter’s romances with her and Lohan.
“This is where all this stuff started. There was no social media to be like, who was dating who?” Duff recalled during her February 2026 appearance on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast. “You just take people’s word for it and then people get mad at you. I mean if you’re, like, Lindsay Lohan or me, he’s, like, probably dating both of us, like, you know what I mean?”
What Happened Between Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan?
Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan’s feud included quite a few headline-making moments. Their back-and-forth seemingly began when Duff made a surprise appearance at Lohan’s Freaky Friday premiere in 2003. Lohan notably made her own unexpected drop-in at Duff’s Cheaper By the Dozen premiere later that year.
According to Duff, she was invited to the Freaky Friday premiere by her Cinderella Story costar Chad Michael Murray. (Murray also starred alongside Lohan in Freaky Friday.)
“Chad Michael Murray invited me,” she said. “I don’t wanna start any more stuff, but, like, he was like, ‘You should come with me.’ And I was like, ‘Mhmm. Probably I should,’” she said on “Call Her Daddy.”
When asked if she intentionally showed up at the Freaky Friday premiere, Duff told Cooper, “I think absolutely yes. I was a teenager.” She also wasn’t surprised to see that Lohan did the same thing.
“I mean, that was, like, my childhood nemesis,” Duff added.
Other infamous moments in the feud include Lohan publicly declaring, “I love you, Hilary Duff,” on TRL, Lohan seemingly poking fun at Duff’s song “So Yesterday” in her Saturday Night Live monologue and Duff’s rumored diss track, “Haters.”
Did Hilary Duff Reconcile With Lindsay Lohan?
Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Duff squashed their beef in a club years later, Duff revealed on “Call Her Daddy.”
“Lindsay came up to me at a club once and was like, ‘Are we good?’ And I was like, ‘We’re good.’ She was like, ‘Let’s take a shot.’ I’m like, ‘OK.’ It was amazing,” she recalled.
