How I Met Your Father actress Francia Raisa, who donated one of her kidneys to singer Selena Gomez amid her lupus flare-up in 2017, was reportedly not invited to the latter’s wedding to Benny Blanco.
Prior to Gomez’s nuptials, the 37-year-old actress responded to the news of the singer’s special day. Following the wedding, media reports suggested her absence from the Santa Barbara venue and rumours went rife.
Speaking to a reporter at a bookstore event ahead of the wedding, Raisa said, “I know she’s getting married, and I’m very happy for her. And look...she has a life, and she is already a billionaire, and I am grateful that I could do that for her.”
With regards to the life-saving procedure, Raisa said, “Look, from the beginning, the doctors told me it’s a donation. If you’re going to donate a dollar to St. Jude or somewhere else, you’re not going to call to say, ‘Hey, what are you doing with my dollar?’”
She continued, “It’s a donation and it’s something nice that I was able to do. I am grateful that I am alive, and I can say that I have saved a life.”
A clip from the interview went viral on social media, with Redditors highlighting the seriousness of donating an organ and then not being invited to the recipient’s wedding.
“This is how I know I'm petty because if I gave someone my organ, I'm getting a wedding invitation,” one of them wrote on Reddit. “If they’re a billionaire, I’m expecting a f****** lump sum that I can live off for the rest of my life. I could never be as gracious as she is,” another shared.
A Reddit user said that Raisa’s response sounds like a PR-influenced answer. “This feels like a very polite PR answer and I'm bummed she has to be put in this position,” they posted.
In the bookstore chat, Raisa dismissed the past rumours about a feud between them over Gomez continuing to drink even after the transplant. “There are too many rumors. I’ve never said anything,” she said, adding, “When that rumor came out that I had gotten angry or something like that because she was drinking, I wasn’t aware of those rumors.”
The duo have had a strained relationship since the transplant. The matter came to light when Gomez said, “I never fit in with a cool group of girls that were celebrities. My only friend in the industry really is Taylor Swift.” To this, Raisa commented, “Interesting”. The Love Again singer clapped back, saying, “Sorry, I didn’t mention every person I know.”
However, she subtly spoke about her current dynamic with Gomez. “No one knows what’s going on, and neither she nor I are talking about it. One day, maybe we will address it,” she added.
Back in 2017, Raisa donated one of her kidneys to the The Heart Wants What It Wants singer, who had been struggling with a lupus flare-up at the time.
That same year, Raisa attended Billboard’s Women in Music event with Gomez, who bagged the Woman of the Year award. The singer-actress expressed her gratitude in her acceptance speech, saying, “To be honest, I think Francia should be getting this award because she saved my life.”
Raisa, too, has openly expressed her admiration for Gomez, including the time she attended her Rare Impact Fund benefit in October 2023.
