Saved by the Bell has apologised to Selena Gomez after the faux pas. Photo / Getty Images
Saved by the Bell has apologised to Selena Gomez after the faux pas. Photo / Getty Images
NBC has apologised after their reboot of the Saved By The Bell sitcom poked fun at Selena Gomez's health.
In a recent episode, which premiered on Stan, a pair of Bayside High students are seen debating about who the identity of Gomez's kidney donor is. They argue about whether or not it was Justin Bieber's mother or Demi Lovato who donated the kidney.
A graffiti message which reads: "Does Selena Gomez even have a kidney," appears to be written on the wall in a different scene.
NBCUniversal, and the series' executive producers issued an apology on Saturday, telling Variety in a statement that, "We apologise. It was never our intention to make light of Selena's health. We have been in touch with her team and will be making a donation to her charity, The Selena Gomez Fund for Lupus Research at USC."
Selena's good friend Francesca Raisa was the person who donated a kidney to Selena in 2017.
A recent episode of the Saved By The Bell reboot features students joking about who Gomez's kidney donor is. Photo / Getty Images
Since the drama on the show, Raisa made a statement on Instagram saying that she has received personal apologies from some people involved in the show.
She also noted how donors would probably be offended by the content of the show.
"Some of the cast and producers have reached out to me personally to apologise for this and I truly appreciate that, but I do want to acknowledge that this public apology from the network should acknowledge the donors that could have been offended by this. It's not about me, it's about acknowledging the great role that donors play @nbc @peacock #savedbythebell," Raisa shared on her Instagram story.
i wonder what was going through they minds when they wrote this, did they actually think this was funny?? respect selena gomez. pic.twitter.com/wpMG2kM5zd
She also posted on her Twitter, "Appreciate the apology but let's not forget about the donors that potentially felt offended and dismissed from the spray paint written on the wall."
Following her kidney transplant, Gomez publicly thanked Raisa for her sacrifice.
"There aren't words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa. She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me," Gomez posted to Instagram at the time. "I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much, sis."
Selena has not responded to the scene in Saved by the Bell.
Francesca Raisa responded to the joke. Photo / Instagram
Meanwhile, Saved by the Bell's reboot has been getting rave reviews.
As a direct sequel to the 1989 series, this iteration of the show is still set at Bayside High, where Slater (Mario Lopez) is now the coach and Jessie (Elizabeth Berkley) is the school therapist.
Jessie's son, the handsome, good-natured but dumb Jamie (Belmont Cameli), is a student and so is Mac Morris (Mitchell Hoog), the son of Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani Amber Thiessen).
Zack is now the Governor of California, having run for office to get out of a $75 parking fine.
Though the original cast of six included African American Lark Voorhies and Lopez is of Mexican descent, the new class are more diverse in not just cultural background, but economic circumstance.
Dropped into the shiny world of Bayside, transplants Daisy (Haskiri Velazquez), Aisha (Alycia Pascual-Pena) and Devante (Dexter Darden) are agape at the Teslas parked in the student carpark and the artisanal bath bomb club.
It's more than just a fish-out-of-water story. The revival series explores the chasm between the disadvantaged kids whose out-of-school responsibilities include looking after younger siblings because their parents work tough jobs, and the privileged Baysiders who wear Fendi shirts and text with LeBron James.
