Selena Gomezs kidney donor Francia Rasa did it out of the kindness of my heart
Embed from Getty Images
This story has a bit of back story to it. In 2017, the actress Francia Raísa donated a kidney to her friend Selena Gomez, since Selena’s had stopped working because of lupus. They’ve been friends for a long time and it’s really touching that Francia did that for Selena. Then in 2022, Selena made a comment in a Rolling Stone interview about her “only friend in the industry” being Taylor Swift. Francia was hurt by that and made a cryptic comment on Instagram which was then deleted. Selena had to clarify what she meant but her response still came off backhanded; she commented “sorry I didn’t mention every person I know.” I don’t think Selena was trying to diss Francia in the interview with her original remarks, but I also see why Francia got hurt by it all. She’s in the same “industry” as Selena is and made a huge sacrifice for her, and the quote made it seem as if she didn’t consider Francia a friend. This is coming back into the news cycle now because Selena wished Francia happy birthday on Instagram. Her caption is really sweet and she says “I love you.” So they are on good terms again. Francia talked on the Good Guys podcast about the process of donating her kidney to Selena and how it felt fated for her. Once she knew they were a match, she knew it had to happen. People also reach out to her and ask for advice before they donate a kidney themselves. She seems like a lovely person.
How Francia felt about donating her kidney to Selena: “I’ve said this before, I felt it in my heart…I knew I was a match, I knew it was going to happen. No one forced me to do anything. It came out of the genuine kindness of my heart. And I’ve been super blessed ever since.”
Later in the interview, Josh asked Francia about the procedure itself and her mental state going into the whole thing. “I was so calm, I had this crazy calmness. It was wild,” she explained. “The tests were a lot, it was hard. But the entire time, I was just like, I just feel like I have to do this. The minute I found out we were a match, I was like, yeah, this is happening.”
Her body went into shock after surgery: She also explained how her body reacted to the surgery and how she’s felt since. “I lost something that my body didn’t need to lose, so your body ultimately goes into shock,” she said. “I’m still working on that, I didn’t do the proper things I probably should have done afterwards so I still feel a little bit of it.”
People reach out to her before they donate kidneys: One thing she’s gained from going through the surgery is that she’s now able to be a support system to anyone else who’s about to undergo a similar procedure. “That’s the cool thing about this whole experience, I actually do talk to a lot of people before they go into surgery,” she said. “I now have knowledge about this, and I’m a walking success story. I feel better than I did before. I actually take care of myself better than I did before. I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in.”
I like Selena a lot, and I admire her openness about mental health. You can tell that her advocacy on the subject runs deep and that it’s very important to her. That being said, I also think she can be messy sometimes and creates drama where there doesn’t need to be any. As someone who recently evaded a Difficult Conversation by getting up and leaving a restaurant through the kitchen, I’m just as guilty of that as anyone else. (I am friends with the people who own/operate the restaurant, by the way. I’d never take such liberties otherwise.) Game recognizes game. Anyway, Francia comes across as so generous and sweet. I’m glad she and Selena have been able to patch things up. It would be so sad if they weren’t friends after all they’ve experienced together.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcWpobn55e9Keo56mkZS0sLnEs6qYo5mZu6bFvp2mp6eilLOzrc2coJqXopbAoqvDopuYoaSUvLbAvqidmKyYmqystc2dpZ6ro5S8p6vMspahnZGnwXA%3D