Investors sue Selena Gomez

Several investors in Selena Gomez's mental health startup Wondermind have sued the pop star, claiming they were misled about the company's success and her involvement in the project, CNN reports.

Wondermind was launched in 2021, with Gomez listed as co-founder and chief marketing officer, according to the lawsuit. The platform is designed to offer users “simple and actionable ways to put mental health first every day,” according to its website, which invites visitors to sign up for a newsletter.

Five investors said in the lawsuit that they invested $1,2 million in 2022, expecting Gomez to use her fame and huge social media following to help grow the company.

Instead, the investors claim, "for three years, as the company quietly collapsed before their eyes, none of its founders, directors or board members said a word to the investors whose money financed that collapse."

In addition to Gomez, the investors are also suing her mother, Mandy Teefey, who was the company's CEO, and their former business partner, Danielle Pearson. They are charged with securities fraud, common law fraud, breach of contract and other alleged violations. The plaintiffs are seeking the return of their investment, as well as damages and attorneys' fees.

The company was valued at $95 million in 2022, and investors were allegedly told, according to the lawsuit, that Wondermind would secure business partnerships with companies like JPMorgan, as well as advertising deals, celebrity cover stories, and a “revolutionary app.”

"Those partnerships never existed. The planned initiatives were never realized. The app was never built," the investors claim.

The company's problems became public after The Cut magazine published an extensive article about Wondermind last year, stating that the company was burdened by internal conflicts, relationship problems, and a power struggle.

That text is one of the key pillars of the new lawsuit. It claims, citing The Cut, that Gomez failed to fulfill her contractual obligations due to "long-standing personal issues with her mother."

Gomez, Tiffey and Pearson together owned nearly 90 percent of the company, the lawsuit states.

According to the lawsuit, Tiffie told investors that Pearson allegedly used the investors' money to pay her rent in New York, which was about $60 a month. Pearson left Wondermind in 2023.

She said she “denies the allegations” against her and looks forward to the opportunity to present specific documentation and financial statements that she claims confirm the facts. She also stressed that she has never used investor money for personal expenses.

Selena Gomez, Mandy Teefey and Wondermind have not yet responded to CNN's request for comment.