The long-rumoured tension between Selena Gomez and her kidney donor Francia Raisa has once again made headlines, this time after Raisa was noticeably absent from Gomez’s wedding to Benny Blanco. While the guest list included Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Zoe Saldaña, Paris Hilton and the Only Murders in the Building cast, people were quick to notice that the woman who once saved Gomez’s life wasn’t there.
Credit: Instagram/@itsbennyblanco
Raisa appeared to be elsewhere, posting an Instagram video of herself dancing with a choreographer around the same time as the ceremony. Naturally, people assumed this meant they were no longer friends, and now Raisa herself has spoken out.
In a new interview filmed at a bookstore event, the How I Met Your Father actress addressed the years of speculation surrounding her and Gomez’s friendship, calling the feud stories “just rumours”. She also wished Gomez well, saying: “I know she’s married, and I’m very happy for her. She has a life, and she is already a billionaire, and I am grateful that I could do that for her.”
Credit: Instagram/@selenagomez
Raisa, 37, famously donated a kidney to Gomez in 2017 after the singer’s lupus caused severe kidney damage. The surgery was life-threatening: Gomez’s artery even burst during the procedure, and both women later admitted they struggled with depression afterward.
Their friendship seemed to suffer in 2022 when Gomez told Rolling Stone that her “only friend in the industry” was Taylor Swift, prompting Raisa to comment “interesting” under a post about the quote. Gomez replied, “Sorry I didn’t mention every person I know,” and people quickly assumed there was tension.
Selena responded to a TikTok that attacked her about Francia and her other friends not being included in the documentary and the Rolling Stone interview.
“Sorry I didn’t mention every person I know” pic.twitter.com/cgJDIUkt43
— Selena Gomez Source (@GomezSource) November 6, 2022
In December 2023, Raisa admitted that she and Gomez had been distant in recent years, but she confirmed that they were still friends.
“We hadn’t spoken much in six years. Especially [in] the last year, we didn’t speak at all,” she told USA Today, though she said that they had made up around her 35th birthday.
“We’ve never really had beef with each other. Nothing happened, and if you ask either of us, we don’t know what happened, but we needed that time apart. Then when you come back together, you’re better people.”
While both have since publicly denied any bad blood, Raisa’s latest comments suggest she’s ready to move on. She reminded people that organ donation isn’t about lifelong emotional debt: “It’s a donation. If you give a dollar to charity, you don’t call to ask what they’re doing with it.”
Still, her absence from the wedding has reignited speculation that things between the former besties may not be as healed as they claim.
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Featured image credit: Instagram/@selenagomez, TikTok/@selenagomez
