The Saved by the Bell reboot dropped on Peacock a couple days ago, and there's been A LOT of drama ever since. Go ahead and grab some popcorn as I catch you up to speed.
You might remember that Selena Gomez got a kidney transplant as part of her lupus treatment back in 2017. Her close friend, actor Francia Raisa, was the donor, and the two have been open about how difficult the experience was.
Well in the new Saved by the Bell, two students argue in the hallway about the identity of Selena's kidney donor. One insists that it was Justin Bieber's mom while the other argues that it was Demi Lovato:
wtf is wrong with this show and it’s obsession with selenas health??? this is so disgusting and unnecessary @peacockTV @TraceyWigfield @bariotweets @RealPeterEngel
In case you missed it, the writing on the wall of that second clip says, "Does Selena Gomez even have kidneys?"
To no one's surprise, the internet had something to say about all this. So many fans responded on Twitter that "respect Selena Gomez" was trending yesterday:
Joking about someone’s disease is not funny whatsoever. It’s just so cruel and unjust. Selena doesn’t deserve that & no one else deserves that either. RESPECT SELENA GOMEZ
my parents just asked why “respect selena gomez” was trending, after i explained to them what had happened my dad had tears in his eyes. my grandma passed away due to lupus, and people making jokes on it made my dad feel awful. this is something that affects me a lot
RESPECT SELENA GOMEZ This absolutely sickens me that we’re in 2020 and we still can’t respect one another Selena Gomez deserves nothing but all the happiness and respect in the world
Respect Selena Gomez AND Respect Francia Raisa
According to Variety, NBCUniversal and the show’s executive producers responded to the backlash. "We apologize," Peacock said. "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."
Even after the apology, many fans remained upset. Some didn't feel it was genuine, while others urged Peacock to remove the scenes from the episode:
It’s the way @peacockTV allowed Selena’s kidney transplant to be joked about not once but TWICE. the only reason an apology was even issued is because they got caught. Someone’s life threatening auto immune disease isn’t easy leverage for your tv show. RESPECT SELENA GOMEZ
@Variety Peacock apologizing & making a donation is a good start however the right move to make in this situation is to remove & cut both scenes from the Saved By The Bell episode & get rid of the awful & disgusting black graffiti on the wall immediately. That’s the best move to make now!
Well, Francia herself responded to all this. Though NBC apologized for making fun of Selena's health, Francia pointed out that donors could also feel "offended and dismissed":
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 https://t.co/HIwa30PKMM
The actor also gave a shoutout to all the selfless kidney donors out there:
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! 🙏🏽
So I'd like to end this with a round of applause for Francia, who definitely deserves it!
