Selena Gomez calls out 'tasteless joke' about her kidney transplant on 'The Good Fight'
Selena Gomez said she's disappointed that another television show has made a joke about her kidney transplant.
A recent episode of Paramount+'s "The Good Fight" contained a scene in which several characters bemoaned cancel culture and said people now "need a permission slip to tell a joke." When the characters discussed what jokes are definitely considered off-limits, Ifádansi Rashad's Jim asks if "Selena Gomez's kidney transplant" makes the cut. Topics floated by other characters included autism and necrophilia.
After learning "The Good Fight" referenced her life-saving kidney transplant, Gomez took to social media on Tuesday to speak out.
"I am not sure how writing jokes about organ transplants for television shows has become a thing but sadly it has apparently," she tweeted. "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 shouted out her fans for always having her back in a follow-up tweet 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, Peacock's "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.
Gomez revealed in 2017 that she'd needed a kidney transplant as a result of her struggle with the autoimmune disease lupus. The "Wizards of Waverly Place" alum shared a photo of her and her donor, friend and "Grown-ish" star Francia Raísa, side-by-side and holding hands in a hospital bed.
