An investigation has been launched into the GoFundMe account of Tessica Brown - the woman who went viral earlier this month after applying Gorilla Glue brand adhesive to her hair in lieu of hairspray.
In a recent virtual interview with The New York Post, 40-year-old Brown stated that, although she had pledged to give the money she had raised to charity, her GoFundMe account has been temporarily suspended due to reports from a number of users that it was fraudulent.
When Brown first set up the fundraiser, she was only asking for $1,500 - but that soon skyrocketed to $23,000 after her story went viral on social media.
Now, per The Post, Brown has stated that she has been unable to access the money. She said:
"They [GoFundMe] won’t even release it to me because that many people have called and said it was a fraudulent account. Every time you look at it, it says it’s under investigation."
TMZ previously reported that Brown intended on donating the majority of the $23,000 raised to the Restore Foundation - a non-profit organization that provides reconstructive surgery services for those in need.
The organization is run by Beverly Hills-based plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Obeng, who kindly offered to perform the four-hour-long procedure required to dissolve the glue and save Brown's hair for free, after learning about her plight on social media.
TMZ further reported that Tessica planned on keeping $1,000 of the GoFundMe cash to pay for the emergency room visit she made in Louisiana before going to visit Dr. Obeng in Los Angeles.
Brown continued:
"I'm like: 'We can donate to Dr. Obeng… and the rest of that I’m going to donate it to three families in St. Bernard Parish.'
"That’s going to be pretty upsetting because who are y’all to say, you know, this was a fraudulent account?
"For one, Dr. Obeng brought me from St. Bernard Parish to Hollywood [...] to take this out of my head. Like, this man didn’t have to do none of this.
"No matter what I do it’s a problem."
In an official statement issued to The New York Post, a GoFundMe spokesperson stated that the site was "working with her on the withdrawal of funds," before adding: "Prior to the withdrawal, [Brown] must clearly state on the campaign page how she intends to use the funds."
The original video was posted to TikTok earlier this month when Brown uploaded a clip of herself explaining that she had mistakenly used the glue to style her hair after running out of hairspray.
Tessica told her followers that her hair hack had worked and held her hair perfectly in place. In fact, it had worked a little too well - sticking her hair in the same style for a month despite 13 hair-washing attempts.
