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

BYCole Blake2.1K Views
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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 a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.
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