While the upcoming series, Saved by the Bell has already received a major backlash from Selena Gomez's fans, a close source revealed that the 28-year-old singer found the kidney transplant jokes offensive and bullying.
The singer and actress who went under surgery to get her kidney fixed with the a friend's help, Francia Raisa, got really upset because of the Saved by the Bell scene based on her health. The creators recently confirmed that all the references to Gomez's health have been chopped out from the reboot series.
In fact, fans were so angry with the scenes that they started trending "Respect Selena Gomez" on Twitter over the weekend. Gomez issued a public statement in 2017 and revealed her close friend's identity, who donated her the kidney.
However, in one of the scenes, many students featured in the series speculated who donated the kidney. Moreover, one of the students says that it was Justin Bieber’s mother, while another one said it was Demi Lovato.
In another scene, there is graffiti in the background that asks questions about Gomez having a kidney or not. Although the show’s executive producers, NBC Universal, and Peacock apologized for the scenes. The close source disclosed that the singer feels that such jokes are insulting her and other donors.
Moreover, Gomez felt that jokes were cracked at her expense, which fans agreed as they took social media to outrage. Although the studio and creators publicly apologized to the singer and said that they had no intention to make a pun on Gomez's health.
Meanwhile, they also addressed the singer's charity work through The Selena Gomez Fund, which works to benefit Lupus Research at USC. They mentioned in the statement that they are in touch with Gomez's team, and soon, they will make a donation to help the cause.
Raisa also took her Instagram to respond to the controversy and revealed that the producers and the series's cast members have personally reached out to her to apologize. However, the 32-year-old actress said that she does appreciate their apology, but it should not be done privately.
"I do want to acknowledge that this public apology from the network should acknowledge the donors that could have been offended by this," she added while tagging @nbc and @peacocktv along with the #savedbythebell hashtag. Moreover, she said that it is not about her, but the donors, who play an important role.