Constant shade? After much speculation about their friendship, many fans are asking: are Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa still friends? The Rare Beauty founder might have given us hints about what she thinks about her kidney donor.
The drama between the two came up after Selena revealed a detail about her friends in her Rolling Stone cover story. “I never fit in with a cool group of girls that were celebrities,” she said. “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.” In an Instagram post posted by E! News that highlighted the specific quote, Francia commented, “Interesting.” She quickly deleted the comment, but fans took to social media to make commentary on their public friendship.
In a TikTok video by @stephaniewithdadeets, the celeb gossip TikToker explained the drama between the Secret Life of The American Teenager actress and the Only Murders in the Building star. She also specifically highlighted the fact that Francia doesn’t follow Selena on Instagram anymore. Selena commented on the viral TikTok, “Sorry I didn’t mention every person I know.”
So what’s the deal between the two stars? Read below for a history of Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa’s friendship and her kidney donation.
Are Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa still friends?
@selenagomezBut everyone is a 10, remember that fact while viewing♬ original sound – Selena Gomez
Are Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa still friends? Selena and Francia became friends in 2007 after they met at a charity event. “Disney and ABC Family had the stars of their shows go to the Children’s Hospital. Selena and I were in the same group and we just clicked,” Francia told Latina magazine back in 2013. At the time, Francia was starring in The Secret Life of An American Teenager while Selena was on her Disney Channel show Wizards of Waverly Place.
The friendship proved to be strong when Francia revealed that the two were like “sisters” in an interview with WetPaint per Daily Mail. “I love her to death. She’s my sister and she is one of the sweetest girls I know. She is so caring and so loving and so nurturing. She’s awesome. I don’t know where she came from.” In a now-deleted Instagram post from 2016 obtained by Daily Mail, Francia gushed about her friendship with Selena. “I went through heartbreak this year and you left the studio and drove out of your way to come see me and comfort me. I received good news last month and you FaceTimed me minutes before you went up on stage just to congratulate me,” she wrote. “There are so many moments we have and things you do that I cherish and don’t take for granted. Whether it’s crying, laughing, or simply sitting on my kitchen floor throwing our hands up in the air confused at life, I’m thankful you’re always there.”
A year after the kidney transplant, Radar Online reported that a source said that Raisa was fed up when she saw Selena drinking wine and called out her “unhealthy choices” while she was still recovering. However, another source told the site about Selena’s perspective. “The truth is that Selena was tired of feeling like she owed something to her because she gave her a kidney,” the source said. “This was Francia’s choice; Selena did not steal the kidney from her.”
However, the two reunited in July 2022 when they made a TikTok together. After Selena’s AppleTV+ documentary, Me and & My Mind, no one is sure where the two stand. Fans noticed that Selena didn’t mention her friendship with Francia in the film, despite her being her kidney donor. Fans scooped out Francia’s Instagram after the comment and also saw that the How I Met Your Father star wasn’t following Selena back on her account.
Why did Selena Gomez need a kidney from Francia Raisa?
Image: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Why did Selena Gomez need a kidney? Selena was diagnosed with Lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease, around 2012 to early 2014. The autoimmune disease affected her kidney, and she needed a new one. “Instead of the immune system fighting off things like infection and cancer, it turns against the individual and starts acting on their own organs,” Dr. Gary Gilkeson, professor of medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina told the Lupus Foundation of America. The waiting list for Selena to get a new kidney was seven to 10 years until Francia stepped in.
When did Francia Raisa give Selena Gomez her kidney?
When did Francia Raisa give Selena Gomez her kidney? Francia gave her kidney to Selena in 2017. The Wizards of Waverly Place alum revealed on her Instagram that she got a kidney transplant from Francia. “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. I honestly look forward to sharing with you, soon my journey through these past several months as I have always wanted to do with you,”she shared. “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.”
Francia revealed that when she found out about Selena’s condition, she immediately signed up to be a donor. She told The Today Show, “[Selena] goes: ‘I don’t know what to do, the [donor wait] list is seven to 10 years long,’ and it just vomited out of me. I was like: ‘Of course I’ll get tested.” When she found out that she was a match, it was “unexpected.” “One day I got a phone call from Selena, on FaceTime, and she’s like: ‘We’re a match!’ and I’m like… ‘Yay, how do you know this?’” Francia explained to SELF. “I had a way that I wanted to tell her, when I’d made the decision.” She also told her social worker that she was “angry” by the way she found out.
“It’s harder as the donor because we are losing something our body didn’t need to lose, so trying to recover from that and she’s gaining something her body needed,” she explained on Harry Connick Jr.’s show Harry. “So she’s up and at it immediately and I had a hard time.” She continued, “I couldn’t get up without having someone help me. That was very humbling. I couldn’t take a shower by myself, I had to have someone help me because I couldn’t move.”
She also revealed to Elle that the surgery was very scary due to some surprising conditions. “My kidney was very active, and when it turned I broke an artery,” she said. “They had to take her into emergency surgery and get a vein from her leg and build a new artery to keep my kidney in place. She could have died.”
On if she regrets the surgery, Francia explained that the kidney transplant actually made the bond between her and Selena stronger. “It was a big surgery. She felt bad about even having me do that because we are just friends. I am not her family or anything. Well, I am now. She has my blood,” she told the singer.
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