Francia Raisa has spoken out after reportedly not attending Selena Gomez’s wedding, dismissing rumours that they have fallen out.
It’s been almost a decade since Francia, 37, donated one of her kidneys to the Only Murders in the Building star, who has lupus.
Fans had expected to see the Grown-ish actress at the star-studded affair, which saw Selena tie the knot with producer and musician Benny Blanco.
The likes of Ed Sheeran, Martin Short, Steve Martin, Paris Hilton, and Taylor Swift attended but not Francia.
While at a bookstore event before the big day, she was asked about Selena by a Spanish outlet, replying she was ‘very happy for her’.
‘Look… she has a life and she is already a billionaire and I am grateful that I could do that for her,’ Francia said, according to translated subtitles.
TikToker and reporter Magaly Ortiz Rodrigu then asked what advice she would give anyone considering organ donation.
‘From the beginning, the doctors told me, it’s a donation,’ the actress replied. ‘If you are 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?”
‘It’s a donation and it’s something nice that I was able to do’.
She added that she was ‘grateful’ to be alive and to be able to say she had ‘saved a life’, regardless of whether she remained close to Selena or not.
The pair met in 2007, having run in similar circles, and 10 years later, when Selena needed a kidney, Francia offered to get herself tested to see if they were a match.
In an interview with W, she revealed Selena ‘could have died’ after a complication meant surgeons had to ‘build her a new artery’ after the transplant.
‘We didn’t want to tell anybody because recovery was very hard for us, and we went through a depression at the time,’ she continued. ‘We kind of just wanted to be normal and not have that attention on us.
‘I really left it up to her. I’ve never had anything personal come out about me before.’
Selena later called Francia her ‘sis’ and thanked her ‘beautiful friend’ for the lifesaving donation.
‘She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me,’ she wrote on Instagram. ‘I am incredibly blessed.’
Two months later, when accepting Billboard’s Woman of the Year Award, Selena declared Francia ‘should be getting this award’ in an emotional speech.
Their friendship continued with matching tattoos and goofy TikToks together until in November 2022 when the Come and Get It singer made a controversial comment to Rolling Stone.
‘My only friend in the industry really is Taylor [Swift], so I remember feeling like I didn’t belong,’ Selena said in the cover story – with Francia commenting, ‘interesting’.
After Francia unfollowed her friend on Instagram, the Rare Beauty founder said ‘Sorry I didn’t mention every person I know.’
They were seen hanging out again the next year and Francia attended the inaugural Rare Impact Fund benefit gala to support Selena’s charity.
In a 2023 docuseries for Apple TV Plus, the Bluest Flame singer doubled down on how she will ‘never ever, ever, be more in debt to a person than Francia’.
However, the pair no longer appear to be close and the How I Met Your Father actress refused to answer questions about Selena last year.
In the new interview, Francia hit out at ‘nonsense’ speculation that they are in a feud or that she is ‘angry’ at Selena’s treatment of her body after the transplant.
Selena was recently spotted with a vape in her hand while getting ready for her big day with Taylor Swift, sparking concern from fans.
‘Well, right now, what you are asking me is nonsense that has been in the media, and there are too many rumours,’ she replied. ‘I’ve never said anything.’
‘When that rumour came out that I had gotten angry or something like that because [Selena] was smoking, I wasn’t aware of those rumours. No one knows what’s going on, and neither she nor I are talking about it.’
Ending the chat, Francia added: ‘One day, maybe we will address it.’
Metro has reached out to Selena’s team for comment.
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