Selena Gomez: NBC apologises for joking about singer’s kidney transplant in Saved by the Bell reboot
Graffiti in the background of one scene read: ‘Does Selena Gomez even have kidneys?’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.NBC has apologised after facing backlash to jokes about Selena Gomez’s kidney transplant in Peacock’s Saved by the Bell reboot.
In 2017, the “Lose You to Love Me” singer revealed that after contracting lupus, she had received a transplant from her close friend Francia Raísa.
While Gomez shared this news on Instagram, a new episode of Saved by the Bell saw two high school students gossiping about the identity of Gomez’s donor after the school confiscated all their phones and left them in the dark about pop culture.
“I know for a fact that Selena Gomez’s kidney donor was Justin Bieber’s mom,” one student speculated.
“It was Demi Lovato’s kidney,” the other replied. “They’re best friends, like you and I were.”
In a later scene, graffiti spray painted in the background of a scene read: “Does Selena Gomez even have kidneys?”
The episode was widely criticised by Gomez’s fans who accused Peacock of making light of the singer’s illness, with “Respect Selena Gomez” trending on Twitter on Saturday (28 November).
“It’s not funny to make jokes about someone else’s illness, she's been through a lot and she deserves better treatment,” one Twitter user commented.
Later on Saturday, NBC and Peacock apologised, with a statement reading: “We apologise. 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.”
The new series of Saved by the Bell is a reboot of the original high school sitcom which ran from 1989 to 1993 and airs on streaming service Peacock in the US.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments