Originally appeared on E! Online
Selena Gomezis speaking out.
After the “Calm Down” singer, her mom Mandy Teefey and co-founder Daniella Piersonwere accused of defrauding investors in their mental health startup Wondermind in a securities fraud and breach of contract lawsuit, her legal team fired back at the allegations in a statement.
“The allegations that Selena Gomez engaged in any way whatsoever in any purported ‘fraud’ or other wrongdoing are completely meritless, both factually and legally,” Gomez’s litigator Mathew S. Rosengart shared in a statement to E! News Aug. 15. “We will vigorously defend these false allegations and indeed are filing a motion to dismiss the baseless claims against her.”
In a lawsuit obtained by E! News Aug. 13—which names Gomez, Teefey and Pierson as defendants—limited liability companies Wondermind SRS 44 and Bespoke Wondermind SPV alleged that nearly $1.2 million was invested in Wondermind over false representations to investors, including that Gomez would be “intimately involved” in the company.
“Gomez purported to sign a contract obligating her to perform and then ignored it,” the suit read. “The partnerships did not exist. The initiatives never materialized. The app was never built. And for three years, while the Company quietly collapsed around them, not one of its founders, officers, or directors said a word to the investors whose money was funding the collapse.”
According to the complaint, it wasn’t until September 2025 that investors became aware of the company’s alleged struggles when The Cut published an exposé, in which former employees accused Teefey of doing drugs in the Wondermind office. (Teefey has denied the allegations.)
Meanwhile, the suit also cited an August 2025 Forbesarticle, in which ex-staffers alleged Pierson, 31, was “pushed out” of the startup after tensions with Teefy, 50, less than two years after they co-founded the company with Gomez, 34, in November 2021.
At the time, Pierson’s spokesperson told the publication that she “would not characterize it as ‘pushed out,'” adding that “leaving Wondermind was a very difficult decision, but she was proud of what they had built in the time there.”
In response to the lawsuit, Pierson said in a statement to theNew York Times that she “categorically denies the allegations against her and welcomes the opportunity to present concrete documentation and financial records that establish the facts.”
E! News has reached out to reps for Gomez, Teefey and Pierson for comment on the lawsuit but hasn’t heard back.
Wondermind—which officially launched in 2022—is described as the “first mental fitness ecosystem,” an “easy, inclusive space where people could come together to explore, discuss, and navigate their feelings,” per the company’s website.
After announcing the startup, Gomez, who detailed her own mental health struggles, spoke about why she felt inspired to create Wondermind.
“Something I’ve always tried to do in my career is make sure I lend my voice to places where it matters,” she toldEntrepreneurin November 2021. “And I have to give my mom credit for that because she taught me everything.”
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