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Everything we know about Selena Gomez's kidney donor – and why they fell out
Actress Francia Raisa, who famously donated her kidney to Selena Gomez in 2017, is finally speaking out to clear the air about persistent rumors of tension between the two stars.
In a new interview with Univision’s Primer Impacto, filmed just days before Gomez’s September 27 wedding to Benny Blanco, Raisa dismissed claims that she was angry at her longtime friend for allegedly smoking after the transplant.
“What you’re asking me is nonsense,” Raisa said bluntly. “There are too many rumors. When that rumor came out that I had gotten angry or something like that because [Selena] was smoking, I wasn’t even aware of those rumors.”
She added, “No one knows what’s going on, and neither she nor I are talking about it. One day, maybe we will address it.”
The friendship that saved a life
Raisa and Gomez’s friendship goes back more than a decade, long before the transplant that made headlines worldwide.
The pair met as young actors; Gomez starring in Wizards of Waverly Place and Raisa in The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
When Gomez suffered severe kidney complications due to lupus in 2017, Raisa stepped forward as a match and donated her kidney to save her friend’s life.
Addressing the wedding rumors
Now, fresh speculation has emerged after reports that Raisa didn’t attend Gomez’s private wedding to producer Benny Blanco; a star-studded ceremony attended by Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Paul Rudd, Zoe Saldaña, and others.
When asked about the nuptials, Raisa chose diplomacy over drama.
“I know she’s getting married, and I’m very happy for her,” she said.
“She has a life, and she is already a billionaire, and I am grateful that I could do that for her.”
Raisa also offered a grounded take on her kidney donation; one that silences any suggestion of resentment.
“From the beginning, the doctors told me it’s a donation. If you donate a dollar to St. Jude, you don’t call to ask, ‘What are you doing with my dollar?’ It’s something kind you do. I’m grateful that I’m alive and can say I saved a life.”
A complicated bond
Despite Raisa's recent comments, rumors of a feud between her and Gomez started as far back as 2022, when Gomez was quoted as saying in an interview that Taylor Swift was her only friend in the entertainment industry.
The interview was then published on Instagram, at which point Raisa commented "interesting" before swiftly deleting it. Not long afterwards, Raisa unfollowed Gomez on Instagram.
Though, the two appear to have reconnected last year. In 2023, Gomez shared a sweet birthday tribute to Raisa, thanking her for their “unbreakable bond.”
That same year, Raisa attended Gomez’s inaugural Rare Impact Fund Benefit, where she reflected on their complex friendship.
“We trauma-bonded, which is beautiful but can get rocky,” she told Extra TV.
“People grow, relationships change. Sometimes you need to spend time apart to grow. We had to go on our own journeys.”
She emphasized that any tension between them has “nothing to do with the kidney.”