Selena Gomez says she'll never be more 'in debt' to someone than Francia Raisa, her 'best friend' and kidney donor
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- Selena Gomez opened up about the impact Francia Raisa had on her life in an Apple TV+ series.
- Raisa, an actor, famously donated a kidney to Gomez, who suffers from lupus, in 2017.
- "I will never ever ever be more in debt to a person than Francia," Gomez said on the show "Dear...".
Selena Gomez called Francia Raisa her "best friend" and said she would never be more "in debt" to anyone else because she donated her kidney.
In the Apple TV+ docuseries "Dear...," Gomez is among several celebrities who read letters from people inspired by their work. The "Rare Beauty" founders episode, which is the latest one from the second season, was released on Friday.
Midway through the episode, Gomez, 30, opens up about her struggle with lupus, an autoimmune disease affecting some 1.5 million people in America, according to the Lupus Foundation. In 2017, she said her health took a turn for the worse when she required a kidney transplant due to complications from the disease.
Around that time Raisa, an actor, who has reportedly been friends with Gomez for years, famously donated a kidney to Gomez.
"In my early twenties, my lupus got really bad and it was now attacking my kidneys intensely," Gomez said in the Apple+ docuseries. "I was terrified for my life completely."
Gomez said she understood that there were "crazy waiting lists" of others in need of a kidney transplant.
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"My best friend, her name is Francia, she said 'No, I'm absolutely getting tested,'" Gomez added. "Within three days, she went to do it, and she was a match."
"I will never ever, ever be more in debt to a person than Francia," Gomez said, adding that Raisa did not even second guess her decision. She also said she and Raisa later got matching tattoos of the date of the kidney transplant.
Gomez's latest comments about her relationship Raisa are the first since she received criticism on social media for saying Taylor Swift is her "only friend in the industry" in a Rolling Stone profile in November.
After the article went online, E! News posted a graphic to Instagram featuring a photo of best friends Gomez and Swift accompanied by the quote.
Raisa then reportedly commented "interesting" on the E! News post before quickly deleting it, according to a screenshot obtained by Pop Crave. Raisa then appeared to unfollow Gomez on Instagram. She does not follow Gomez as of Saturday, while Gomez does appear to follow her.
Gomez later responded to a TikTok speculating about her relationship with Raisa.
"Sorry I didn't mention every person I know," the popstar commented about her friendship with Raisa, who is starring in "How I Met Your Father" on Hulu.
Representatives for Gomez and Raisa did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider made outside normal working hours.