Mandy Teefey, the co-founder of the mental health startup Wondermind and the mother of artist Selena Gomez, is at the center of a dispute. Anonymous employee reports say that Teefey used drugs at work, which she has strongly rejected.
The Cut was the first to disclose the claims, which say that ex-employees saw Teefey snorting what they thought was Ritalin, a prescription drug for ADHD. Employees reportedly alleged that Teefey, who has openly spoken about her health concerns, got regular intravenous injections of liquid Benadryl at the office, which allegedly made her drowsy.
Teefey’s answer and Wondermind’s problems
Teefey vigorously denied the claims in a statement, calling them “lies” propagated by “a few disgruntled employees with an axe to grind.” She said she has a prescription for Ritalin to help with her ADHD, but she denied ever snorting it at work. She said that the IV treatments were for “allergies and the effects of severe COVID and double pneumonia” she had in 2021.
Wondermind has been under examination before. According to reports, the company has had money problems, and insiders told Forbes that it took out a loan to pay off debts, such as missing salaries for employees. The company’s spokesman indicated that there were “growing pains” and that the problem was being “fixed.”
Link to Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez is especially sensitive to the timing of the controversy because she has long been a mental health advocate and is a co-founder and Chief Impact Officer of Wondermind. Gomez hasn’t said anything publicly about the fresh accusations, but people close to the issue say the controversy has made things difficult for her. She is also apparently arranging her wedding to Benny Blanco right now.