Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@selenagomez
Topics: Celebrity, Explained, Health, Selena Gomez
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: Celebrity, Explained, Health, Selena Gomez
The alleged feud, which dates back nearly a decade now, between Selena Gomez and her kidney donor, Francia Raisa, has resurfaced once again following reports that the latter did not attend her and Benny Blanco's recent wedding.
Internet sleuths all over have been sent into an absolute frenzy on social media following the latest update in the year-spanning case, but what is the actual full timeline of Gomez and her kidney donor's friendship after Raisa spoke out on their rumoured feud, which has spread like wildfire?
Well, to understand the avalanche of speculations, allegations and he-said-she-said pop culture politics, we need to rewind all the way back to the 2000s to the start of the pair's friendship.
Now, the pair first met in 2007 and became close friends long before either hit peak fame.
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Then, 10 years later in 2017, Raisa donated a kidney to Gomez after she suffered from lupus-related organ failure. The transplant was successful, and both publicly expressed deep gratitude and love for each other at the time.
Many fans gushed over their friendship as a sweet example of loyalty and selflessness.
Following the surgery, fans noticed that the pair seemed to grow apart, with rumours beginning to circulate that Raisa was upset over Gomez’s lifestyle choices post-transplant -specifically, claims she drank alcohol.
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Raisa later clarified that the transplant itself was not the source of any tension.
In a November 2022 interview with Rolling Stone, Gomez called Taylor Swift her 'only friend in the industry'.
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"I never fit in with a cool group of girls that were celebrities," she told the outlet.
"My only friend in the industry really is Taylor [Swift], so I remember feeling like I didn’t belong. I felt the presence of everyone around me living full lives. I had this position, and I was really happy, but … was I?"
While she didn't specify what she meant by 'industry', as in music or the entertainment biz as a whole, many interpreted this as a snub toward Raisa, who’s also an actress.
The interview was held in order to promote Gomez's documentary, My Mind & Me, which chronicled her struggle with mental illness and lupus (which was one of the reasons she required a kidney donation), prompting fans to point out her glaring omission of Raisa.
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Additionally, the only time that Raisa appeared in the doc was when Gomez referred to her as 'that girl who donated me a kidney'.
Following the publishing of the Rolling Stone article, E! shared the snatch quote from the interview where Gomez referred to Swift as her only friend in the industry.
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Raisa then commented 'interesting' under an Instagram post about it, sparking widespread speculation of a falling out.
Gomez later responded to a fan’s TikTok, which pointed out Gomez's failure to mention Raisa, saying: "Sorry I didn’t mention every person I know."
Raisa reportedly unfollowed Gomez on Instagram, which fans took as further evidence of a feud.
Internet sleuths were thrown a curveball when Gomez called Raisa her 'best friend' in a separate documentary called Dear…, during which she spoke about the kidney donation.
The rumour mill heated back up even when Raisa’s father told a Spanish-language outlet that she was allegedly upset about Gomez’s behaviour after the transplant.
"Love, money and fame change the whole world, including Selena," he told Primer Impacto in May 2023.
"There’s a difference when Selena is drinking. Francia told Selena that she didn’t give her the kidney so she could go out and drink."
Raisa later clarified that her father’s statements were taken out of context and that the issue had nothing to do with the kidney.
In July 2023, Gomez wished Raisa a happy birthday on Instagram, calling her 'a special human being'.
"Happiest of birthdays to this special human being. No matter where life takes us, I love you," she wrote in the caption of the three-photo post.
PEOPLE later reported that Raisa did 'like' the post and re-followed Gomez on Instagram.
Raisa also told E! News they hadn’t spoken much in six years but had reconnected peacefully.
In several follow-up interviews, Raisa reiterated that there was never real 'beef' - just a 'tiff'.
As we say, when Raisa didn’t attend Gomez and Benny's wedding late last month (27 September), tabloids revived feud rumours once again.
Flash-forward to now, and it would appear that both seem to be on good terms publicly.
Raisa explained in an interview in Spanish that was apparently filmed at an event in a bookstore, that she wished Gomez the best ahead of her wedding.
"I know she's getting married, and I'm very happy for her. And look ... she has a life and she is already a billionaire, and I am grateful that I could do that for her," she said, according to translated subtitles.
When asked what she'd say to anyone considering organ donation, Raisa highlighted that the process is about saving someone's life, rather than creating a special bond with them.
"Look, from the beginning, the doctors told me, it's a donation," she explained.
"If you are going to donate a dollar to St. Jude or somewhere else, you're not going to call to say, 'Hey, what are you doing with my dollar?'"
Speaking of the kidney donation, the Bring It On actress added: "It's a donation and it's something nice that I was able to do.
"I am grateful that I am alive and I can say that I have saved a life."
Raisa also responded to unsubstantiated reports that she had gotten 'angry' with Gomez over how she was treating her body after receiving her kidney.
"Well, right now, what you are asking me [about] is nonsense that has been in the media, and there are too many rumours," she explained. "I've never said anything."
She added: "When that rumour came out that I had gotten angry or something like that because [Gomez] was smoking, I wasn't aware of those rumours.
"No one knows what's going on, and neither she nor I are talking about it," Raisa resolved, before concluding: "One day, maybe we will address it."