Peacock Apologizes For "Saved By The Bell" Joke About Selena Gomez's Kidney Transplant

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Selena Gomez, Peacock, Kidney
Peacock has issued an apology after a new "Saved by the Bell" featured a joke about Selena Gomez's kidney transplant.

NBC’s Peacock has apologized for a joke in the new Saved by the Bell reboot that referenced Selena Gomez's kidney transplant in what many viewers found to be a distasteful way.

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"We apologize. 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," Peacock, NBC Universal, and the show’s executive producers said in a statement according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In the sixth episode of the season, two students argue over who donated a kidney to the singer in 2017.

“I know for a fact that Selena Gomez’s kidney donor was Justin Bieber’s mom," one student says. "God, I wish that I had my phone so that I could prove it."

“Prove what?” the other replies. “That you’re an idiot? It was Demi Lovato’s kidney. They’re best friends, like you and I were.”

“Respect Selena Gomez," trended on Twitter after the episode released.

In 2017, due to her lupus condition, Gomez needed kidney surgery. She later shared that her donor was her close friend, Francia Raisa. "There aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa. She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me," she said on Instagram after the surgery. 

[Via]


About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.
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