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Infamous

Selena Gomez’s Failed Startup

Infamous

Sony Music

News, Relationships, Society & Culture, True Crime, Entertainment News

3.81.2K Ratings

🗓️ 12 February 2026

⏱️ 51 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, Vanessa and Natalie talk to The Cut writer Angelina Chapin about Selena Gomez and her mother Mandy Teefey’s mental-health startup, Wondermind. They discuss allegations from former staff and the pressures created when celebrity and mental health advocacy become a business. Read Angelina’s story, “What Happened at Wondermind?” and stay tuned at the end of the episode for more on mother-daughter estrangement from Vanessa’s podcast, So Your Parents Are Old. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts  Read Vanessa’s book, Blurred Lines: Sex, Power and Consent on Campus, and check out Natalie on Instagram at @natrobe To connect with Infamous's creative team, join the community at joincampsidemedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Frankenstein has been nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay Guillermo Del Toro, and Best Supporting Actor Jacob Elorty.

0:11.0

I cannot forget what I am.

0:15.0

Also nominated for eight BAFTA Awards.

0:18.0

Critics Choice Award winner Jacob I Lauddy gives the most transformative performance of the year.

0:23.3

You do something. I am someone.

0:27.2

Frankenstein, now playing only on Netflix.

0:32.0

Campside Media.

0:35.2

Anyone who has a mother probably knows that that relationship with your mother can be complicated.

0:42.3

But what happens when both mother and daughter struggle with mental health?

0:47.3

And one of them is one of the most famous people in the world, and the other isn't.

0:52.3

Add in trying to make a business out of mental health, and you've

0:56.4

got the story of Wondermind, Selena Gomez's ill-fated and little-known mental health startup.

1:03.5

Today, we're talking about Disney star-turned beauty mogul, Selena Gomez, and her mom, Mandy Teafee.

1:10.7

In 2021, Selena and Mandy co-founded Wondermind,

1:14.7

a startup that aimed to destigmatize mental health and democratize its care. But what actually

1:21.5

happened at Wondermind was very different. Selina's mom, Mandy Tiefie, was Wondermind's CEO and an erratic one at that.

1:30.3

In many ways, Wondermind's unraveling echoes some of the epic startup downfalls of the last decade

1:37.3

plus, such as Theranos or WeWork. But it's also much more personal than those. It's about child stardom, and mental health, and what we really owe those we love.

1:49.0

I love you like a love song, baby, and I keep it in a repeat, beep, beep, beep, be.

1:58.0

She gave birth to Selena when she was just 16 years old.

2:02.9

The pair lived in a rough neighborhood, in a small town in Texas, where Mandy struggled to make ends meet as a single mom.

2:11.6

Here's Selena talking about Mandy.

...

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