Selena Gomez Receives 'Saved by the Bell' Apology After Kidney Transplant Joke

From Harper's BAZAAR

Peacock's Saved by the Bell reboot has been drawing criticism this weekend for including multiple references to Selena Gomez's kidney transplant.

As reported by Us Weekly, in episode 6 of the reboot, which dropped on the streaming service on Wednesday, two students can be heard arguing about the pop star's lupus-related health issues. "I know for a fact that Selena Gomez’s kidney donor was Justin Bieber's mom," one student says. Their friend argues that Demi Lovato was the one that donated her kidney to the singer.

However, as pretty much everyone knows, it was actually Gomez's close friend, Francia Raisa, that donated a kidney to Gomez in June 2017.

Later on in the Saved by the Bell episode in question, the words "Does Selena Gomez even have a kidney?" can be seen scrawled across some lockers. Understandably, fans of the pop star were taken aback by the unnecessary and, frankly, ableist jokes made in the show.

On Saturday, the executive producers, Peacock, and NBCUniversal released a statement to Us Weekly which explained, "We apologize. It was never our intention to make light of Selena's health. We have been in touch with her team and will be making a donation to her charity, The Selena Gomez Fund for Lupus Research at USC."

However, Raisa was less than satisfied with the statement and wrote on Twitter, "Appreciate the apology but let’s not forget about the donors that potentially felt offended and dismissed from the spray paint written on the wall."

She continued, "As a kidney donor I want to show love and let other donors know that you are not alone. You are seen. You are appreciated. You are so brave and your selfless act is very much appreciated and valued!"

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