Just days after Selena Gomez put an end to feud rumors by publicly wishing Francia Raísa a happy birthday on social media, the actor has reopened the controversial conversation around her kidney donation to Gomez once more. Raísa is speaking out, denying the claim that she was forced to carry out the momentous gesture for her friend.
Recently, Raísa stopped by Josh Peck's Good Guys podcast and took the opportunity to debunk some rumors about her organ donation. About halfway through the chat, Peck's co-host Ben Soffer addressed the elephant in the room, bringing up the topic of negative comments on social media and mentioning that Raísa should be "celebrated" for donating a vital organ to her friend, an action he called "great" and "heroic."
"I don't necessarily understand how you could be painted negatively in this story," Soffer continued, which prompted Raísa to clear up the air, focusing on the positives rather than the negatives.
"I get [praise] comments a lot, and I never know how to respond to them, like saying 'thank you' doesn't feel right," Raísa shared. “I've said this before [but] I just felt it in my heart. I knew I was a match. I knew it was going to happen. No one forced me to do anything. It came out of the genuine kindness of my heart.”
Raísa continued saying she's been "super blessed" since the transplant, seemingly suggesting that the good deed put the universe on her side. She mentions that she landed a major audition just two weeks after the surgery, which she ended up booking after testing for it on her 29th birthday. "I almost took it as a sign from God," Raísa shared. “I did not think I was going to book that because I was 29 years old. [In fact,] I almost didn't book that show.”
In case you need a refresher, Raísa donated her kidney to Selena Gomez in 2017. Shortly after, she admitted the experience had brought them closer than ever before and that the two friends essentially felt "like family." But not everything has been smooth sailing from there. Raísa and Gomez have had some ups and downs in their friendship since, which means third parties like fans often commented on their relationship.
However, it seems like everything is all good now. In her recent birthday post, Gomez called Raísa a "special human being" and added: “No matter where life takes us, I love you.”
