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Was Janet Yellen high when she met Chinese VP? Psychedelic mushroom dinner theory has the internet in splits

'Scientists have not, as of yet, identified the compounds responsible for causing the hallucinations,' said an expert

BEIJING, CHINA: As Janet Yellen met China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng in Beijing last week, many couldn’t help but notice her welcoming, but awkward repeated bows to him. This is also a breach of protocol by an American official which many found cringe-worthy. Now, as per media reports, her behavior could be directly influenced by the hallucinogenic mushrooms she had three days ago at a local restaurant.

Yellen met with senior Chinese diplomats during her two-day visit, including Premier Li Qiang, deputy finance minister Liao Min, and Pan Gongsheng, the new Communist Party chief of China’s central bank. Among several critics, Bradley Blakeman, a senior White House staffer under George W Bush, reacted, “An American official does not bow. It looks like she’s been summoned to the principal’s office, and that’s exactly the optics the Chinese love.”

Was Janet Yellen high when she met the Chinese VP?

Janet Yellen, during her diplomatic visit to the Chinese capital, met Vice Premier and she bowed thrice, which was not a typical greeting between any high-profile representatives for that matter. But, as per a theory being reported by several outlets, she was high! It claims that the Secretary of Treasure had hallucinogenic mushrooms and that possibly led to her multiple bows. It is said if the mushroom is not properly cooked, it can have psychedelic effects, as per Daily Mail.

The restaurant posted about Yellen’s visit to their outlet on Weibo, a leading social media site. “Our staff said she loved mushrooms very much. She ordered four portions of Jian shou qing. It was an extremely magical day,” it wrote. The news went viral and the internet was flooded with people discussing the mushroom’s purported properties.

'It remains a bit of a mystery...'

“I have a friend who mistakenly ate them and hallucinated for three days," said Peter Mortimer, a professor at the Kunming Institute of Botany, told CNN. He explained why it was considered poisonous since it has hallucinogenic, “Scientists have not, as of yet, identified the compounds responsible for causing the hallucinations. It remains a bit of a mystery and most evidence is anecdotal.” The dish's name is Jian shou qing, which is translated to ‘see hand blue,’ referring to its inner surface which turns blue when one applies pressure on it.

The internet was buzzing after Janet Yellen awkwardly bowed to the Chinese VP, where one wrote, "What is it with the Biden Administration having to be led around like babies?!" Another criticized the gesture, "The most disgraceful and embarrassing regime in history." There were also who came to her defence, one tweeted, "Magic mushrooms may have been to blame for Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s mortifying bow before a Chinese official last week."