Francia Raisa has denied feeling “forced” to donate her kidney to Selena Gomez six years ago.
“That was a time I just felt in my heart I knew I was a match,” the “How I Met Your Father” star told Josh Peck on his “Good Guys” podcast this week. Raisa spoke on her decision to give one of her kidneys to the “Only Murders in the Building” actress, who suffers from lupus.
“I knew it was going to happen,” Raisa said. “No one forced me to do anything. It just came out of the genuine kindness of my heart, and I’ve been super blessed ever since.”
In March, Gomez also spoke about Raisa being a match.
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Francia Raisa denied rumors she felt “forced” to give her kidney to Selena Gomez. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
“My best friend. Her name is Francia. She said, ‘No, I am absolutely getting tested,'” Gomez shared on AppleTV+’s “Dear …” docuseries. “And within three days, she went to get tested, and she was a match. And it was one of those moments where I felt watched over. I know I was so so so lucky.”
Rumors of a strained friendship popped up last year after Gomez told Rolling Stone Taylor Swift was her “only friend in the industry”
“I never fit in with a cool group of girls that were celebrities,” she said at the time. “My only friend in the industry really is Taylor [Swift], so I remember feeling like I didn’t belong.”
Raisa later called the comment “interesting” in a since-deleted Instagram post quoting the comment, prompting Gomez to respond, “Sorry I didn’t mention every person I know.”
On Wednesday, Raisa stressed there’s no “beef” between the two stars, saying, “I know she and I both went public with our situation years ago, and honestly we had to. The press got ahold of the story, and we wanted to tell it.”
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She said she never feels prepared for rumors that spread about her.
“It always catches me by surprise,” Raisa explained. “I can’t read the [social media] comments ’cause I don’t do well with that. I really don’t, and sometimes I disappear because people are mean. They’re so mean, and they hit you, you know, like right there.”
The “Grown-ish” star said one person online accused her of looking for attention because her career is a “flop.”
Francia Raisa said there’s no “beef” between her and Selena Gomez. (Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Unlikely Heroes)
“They get your insecurities, but, you guys, there’s no beef. There’s salsa,” she joked.
In 2018, Raisa admitted to “Self” her recovery after the surgery was “very hard,” adding “Selena and I both went through a depression.”
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Late last month, Gomez wished Raisa a happy birthday on Instagram, writing, “Happiest of birthdays to this special human being. No matter where life takes us, I love you.”
She included three photos of the two of them together.