Celebrity
Selena Gomez’s Shocking Response To Her Kidney Donor Francia Raisa And It Sparks Serious Backlash
Gomez detailed her health struggles in her new documentary but made no mention of her kidney donor, Raisa.
The Disney star, Selena Gomez appears to have fallen out with her former BFF and kidney donor Francia Raisa.
The 34-Year-Old actress unfollowed Gomez on Instagram following the release of the documentary, ‘My Mind & Me,’ where the singer detailed her health struggles but gave no mention of her.
In 2017, the 30-Year-Old had been gravely ill with lupus when Raisa offered to donate her kidney and they underwent the transplant process.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack healthy parts of itself and this was what Gomez was faced with.
Before the transplant, the songstress had said her own kidneys “were just done” due to lupus-related organ damage.
And also claimed it was unbelievable that Raisa turned out to be the perfect match for her.
In an interview with TODAY Show after the surgery, Raisa recalled: “[Selena] goes: ‘I don’t know what to do, the [donor wait] list is seven to 10 years long,’ and it just vomited out of me. I was like: ‘Of course, I’ll get tested.”
At the time, Gomez revealed she didn’t want to ask a single person in her life, adding that “the thought to asking somebody to do that was difficult for me. She volunteered [referring to Raisa] and did it.”
Raisa, however, got irked by Gomez’s quote about Taylor Swift in the documentary that she branded it “interesting” [now-deleted] in the comments section of an E! News post. Just last week, Gomez in an interview with Rolling Stone claimed she only really had one close pal on the Hollywood scene and discussed her friendship with Swift.
The Justin Bieber’s ex also spoke about receiving a kidney but her quotes didn’t mention Raisa being her donor.
Gomez told the Magazine: “I never fit in with a cool of girls that were celebrities. My only friend in the industry really is Taylor.” In her documentary, Gomez gave a candid insight into her health battle. At one point she broke down into tears, stating her lupus symptoms are worsening. In it, she came to terms with the fact that her battle with the disease was the toughest it had been in a while as she felt excruciating pain everywhere.
Some of Gomez‘s fans appeared supportive, saying she had been specifically speaking about the music industry in her documentary and that Raisa is an actor.
“Selena Gomez said that her only friend in the music industry is Taylor Swift. Francia Raisa isn’t in the music industry so why get mad like that? Selena said many times that she sees Francia as her sister,” one person tweeted.
Another agreed: “Selena sees Francia as her own sister so why would she say Francia is her only industry friend?? also I believe Selena was talking about the music industry not Hollywood in general.”
But what further signaled Gomez’s fallout with Raisa was when she left the comment ‘Sorry I didn’t mention every person I know,” underneath a TikTok that discussed how Raisa unfollowed her due to being snubbed in the documentary.
The response sparked huge criticism online, with a user writing: “I was rooting for Selena but she’s coming off here like a real snot.” Someone else added: “I was giving her the benefit of the doubt but this comment is not a good look for her.”
Meanwhile, the Only Murders in the Building star still follows Raisa on Instagram and they’ve been friends for over 10 years. In July, Raisa opened up on how she’s had to alter her diet, after donating a kidney to Gomez. She told Yahoo Life: “Because I have one kidney functioning and it acts as a filter to my body, I can’t consume as much protein.”
In the past, both Gomez and Raisa had often referred to each other as sisters.
@selenagomez But everyone is a 10, remember that fact while viewing
♬ original sound – Selena Gomez
And when disclosed she would be donating her Kidney, Gomez posted a photo of them in hospital beds and captioned it: “There aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa. She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed I love you so much sis.” At the time, the duo did a joint interview on the Today show, with Gomez detailing how her health had been.
According to Self, the friends went through depression post-surgery and it was difficult for Gomez because she had complications – her kidney turned around inside of her body and she needed to have emergency surgery to correct it.
Raisa at the time showed her scars, which included two on her stomach and one below her belly button.
Speaking of her struggle post-op on the Harry Connick Jr.’s show Harry, the actress said: “It’s harder as the donor because we are losing something our body didn’t need to lose, so trying to recover from that and she’s gaining something her body needed. So, she’s up and at it immediately and I had a hard time.”
Raisa added: “I couldn’t get up without having someone help me. That was very humbling. I couldn’t take a shower by myself, I had to have someone help me because I couldn’t move.”
Despite the grueling aftermath of the surgery, the actress expressed no regrets and said it made her and Gomez “family.”
She continued: “It was a big surgery. She felt bad about even having me to do that because we are just friends. I am not her family or anything. Well, I am now. She has my blood. She felt bad. We just wanted our families around and it was cool because now I have a big family. I lost my grandparents when I was younger. Her grandparents are my grandparents now and so I have this extension of a family and it’s been amazing.”
Gomez also defended the actress after a joke was made about who donated the kidney in the Saved by the Bell reboot in 2020. However, the songstress and Swift became friends in 2008 when they were both dating one of the Jonas Brothers. Swift also recently congratulated Gomez on the premiere of her Apple TV+ documentary, writing: “So proud of you @selenagomez. Love you forever.”
FYI, Raisa is a Latina actress with a string of TV and film credits, including Grown-ish, Bring It On: All or Nothing, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
