Selena Gomez Is Facing Backlash After A Forbes Report Claimed That Her Mental Health Startup Failed To Pay Its Staff And Abruptly Cut Their Health Benefits

Co-founded by Selena and her mom, Mandy Teefey, Wondermind is a “mental fitness” outlet that was launched in 2021. According to Forbes, the company employs around 15 people — and while it raised $5 million at a $100 million valuation in 2022, it’s currently “in the midst of a crisis.”

Forbes alleged that Wondermind failed to pay its staff on more than one occasion; according to the outlet, two anonymous employees claimed that the company owes $60,000 to a firm it worked with in the past, while another alleged that tens of thousands of dollars are owed to freelance writers. Most recently, Forbes alleged that Wondermind missed payroll on April 30, and that employees have not been paid since.

As well as employees allegedly missing multiple paychecks, the outlet claimed that health benefits were suddenly slashed a couple of months ago.

What’s more, Selena’s mom purportedly told employees that she took out a loan against her home to pay back the company’s outstanding debts. An insider has since alleged to People that this claim is false.

Forbes claimed that a spokesperson for Wondermind said that the financial crisis has since been “rectified,” and that those who are owed money will receive it today.

The Forbes article has sparked huge criticism online, especially in light of Selena’s extremely wealthy status as one of America’s richest self-made entrepreneurs. Last October, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated that Selena is now worth upwards of $1 billion — namely due to her brand Rare Beauty, which accounts for a large majority of her wealth. The recent piece from Forbes estimates that she’s worth $700 million.

“She is one of the richest people in America, this is unacceptable,” one person wrote. “Not paying them is unacceptable,” echoed another.

“i hope selena, the billionaire, can help the employees feed their families and not lose their housing,” someone else said.

Amid growing backlash, an insider purportedly told People that Selena “immediately” took action and “invested more money” into Wondermind upon hearing about the financial crisis. “Selena has invested millions of dollars over the years into Wondermind to support her mother and their shared passion for mental health, including when she was alerted about the most recent financial setback, and immediately invested more money as she’s not involved in the day-to-day operations,” the source claimed.

BuzzFeed has reached out to Selena’s reps for comment, and we’ll keep you posted if anything else unfolds.