Selena Gomez said she’s disappointed that yet another television show mocked her kidney transplant.
Paramount+’s The Good Fight found itself in hot water when a recent episode contained a scene where several characters bemoaned cancel culture and said people now “need a permission slip to tell a joke.”
When the characters discuss what jokes are definitely considered off-limits, Ifádansi Rashad‘s Jim queries if “Selena Gomez’s kidney transplant” makes the cut. Other topics floated by other characters include autism and necrophilia.
“I am not sure how writing jokes about organ transplants for television shows has become a thing but sadly it has apparently,” Selena said Tuesday on Twitter. “I hope in the next writer’s room when one of these tasteless jokes are presented it’s called out immediately and doesn’t make it on air.”
The “Lose You to Love Me” singer also shouted out her fans for “always [having] my back” in a follow-up post, and encouraged those who “are able” to register to become an organ donor.
A source close to the show told Good Morning America the reference is being taken out of context, saying: “If you watch the episode in full, the reference to Selena Gomez is part of a discussion the characters are having about topics that are not okay to make fun of and the idea of cancel culture and being cancelled for telling a bad joke. The reference is that Selena Gomez’s transplant is not something you can joke about.”
Previously, the Peacock Saved By the Bell revival and the Chinese variety show Who’s the Murderer? came under fire for joking about Gomez’s health. Both shows apologized and removed the problematic content.
Selena revealed in 2017 that she’d needed a kidney transplant as a result of her struggle with the autoimmune disease lupus. The Grammy nominee shared a photo of her and her donor, friend Francia Raisa, lying side-by-side in the hospital.
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
