Francia Raisa Calls Donating Kidney to Selena Gomez an ‘Act of Kindness’
Francia Raisa is reflecting on donating one of her kidneys to longtime friend Selena Gomez.
After she was asked by host Robert Peterpaul what she considers her “biggest act of kindness” during the Monday, April 22, episode of his “The Art of Kindness” podcast, the How I Met Your Father star, 35, had a simple reply.
“Besides donating a kidney, what?” she said. “It was definitely a personal choice. It was definitely just an act of kindness no matter what the rumors are.”
Gomez, 31, shared in September 2017 that she needed a kidney transplant amid her ongoing battle with lupus, an autoimmune disease that can affect many parts of the body, including the joints and vital organs like the kidneys, brain, heart and more, according to the Mayo Clinic.
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“I’m very aware some of my fans had noticed I was laying low for part of the summer and questioning why I wasn’t promoting my new music, which I was extremely proud of,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “So I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering. It was what I needed to do for my overall health.”
She added, “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.”
While Raisa has been open about her organ donation over the years, she told Peterpaul that she’s experienced backlash from social media users; however, the negativity from fans hasn’t gotten her down.
“People are always just gonna look for something negative,” she continued. “I put myself in a position where people are interested in my personal life – I wish that wasn’t so crazy. Sometimes people need a distraction from their own life. If I’m that distraction, I guess I just have to be grateful that people care about my feelings. Yeah, it was something I just did because I really felt called to do it and I’ve been blessed since.”
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Raisa and Gomez became friends after meeting at a children’s hospital in 2007. Though they remained close through the years, rumors of a feud between the pair began swirling after the Only Murders in the Building star told Rolling Stone in November 2022 that Taylor Swift is her “only friend” in the industry.
After the quote went viral, Raisa seemingly reacted to the comment, writing “interesting” under a post talking about Gomez’s interview and unfollowing the Rare Beauty founder on Instagram.
Gomez later defended herself via TikTok, writing, “Sorry I didn’t mention every person I know.”
The duo appeared to patch things up by July 2023 after Gomez wished the Grown-ish star a happy 35th birthday via Instagram.
In December of that year, Raisa addressed the alleged feud in an interview with USA Today.
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“I don’t know why the timing happened the way it did, but I remember being in St. Tropez in June and I kept talking about her. We hadn’t spoken much in six years. Especially [in] the last year, we didn’t speak at all,” Raisa told the outlet.
She continued: “We’ve never really had beef with each other. Nothing happened, and if you ask either of us, we don’t know what happened but we needed that time apart. Then when you come back together, you’re better people. She and I are still getting to know each other again.”
