Francia Raisa slammed claims that she didn’t want to donate her kidney to Selena Gomez.
“I just felt it in my heart. I knew it was a match, I knew it was going to happen. No one forced me to do anything,” Raisa, 35,, said on the Tuesday, August 1, episode of the “Good Guys” podcast. “It came out of the genuine kindness of my heart. I have been super blessed ever since.”
The actress, who recently noted there was “no beef” between her and Gomez, 31, went on to describe the aftermath of the surgery.
“She and I went public with our situation years ago and, honestly, we had to,” she recalled. “As for what’s going on lately, does anyone prep you for this kind of stuff? Never. We never get prepped for this kind of stuff. It always catches me by surprise. I don’t know if it’s good or not.”
Raisa has made an effort to avoid the online speculation about the pair’s bond, adding, “I can’t read the comments because I don’t do well with it. I really don’t. Sometimes I disappear because people are mean. People are so mean. They hit you right there. Someone said, ‘Oh, you’re just looking for attention because your career’s a flop.’ I’m like, ‘Is it a flop?'”
After several years of friendship, Raisa donated a kidney in 2017 amid Gomez’s battle with lupus.
“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,” Gomez captioned an Instagram photo of herself and Raisa in the hospital at the time. “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.”
Raisa, for her part, later opened up about her decision to help Gomez. “She was asking me about my day, and she grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge and tried to open it and couldn’t,” she shared during a 2018 interview with W Magazine. “Then she threw it on the floor, and she fell to the floor and started crying. I was like, ‘What is wrong with you?’ She said, ‘I need a new kidney. I don’t know what I’m going to do, the waitlist is seven to 10 years.’ And it just came out of me, and I said, ‘I’ll get tested.’”
The duo have since sparked rumors of a rift after fans pointed out that they have spent less time together publicly. The rumors continued when Gomez shed light on the state of her Hollywood friendships during an interview.
“I never fit in with a cool group of girls that were celebrities. My only friend in the industry really is Taylor [Swift], so I remember feeling like I didn’t belong,” she told Rolling Stone in November 2022, opting not to mention any other friends.
Raisa seemingly reacted to the remark at the time, writing, “Interesting,” in the comments of an Instagram post. She subsequently unfollowed Gomez on social media.
Last month, however, Gomez surprised fans by gushing over Raisa in a birthday tribute, writing via Instagram on July 26, “Happiest of birthdays to this special human beings [sic]. No matter where life takes us, I love you. ❤️ @franciaraisa.”
Raisa squashed speculation about her supposed tension with Gomez, telling TMZ days later, “I got so many great birthday messages. I really, really appreciate everyone. … You know, it’s a new year.”
