The Saved By The Bell reboot, which launched this past Wednesday on a brand-new streaming service, Peacock, is receiving some heat after mocking Selena Gomez‘s life-threatening disease.
As many know, Selena Gomez underwent a life-saving kidney transplant back in 2017, and her kidneys seem to be the joke of the show. Fans of Gomez are so infuriated that “RESPECT SELENA GOMEZ” began trending online.
The first reference takes place in the first scene of the series and depicts two girls arguing over Gomez’s kidney donor’s “real” identity. One girl is adamant that Justin Bieber’s mom is the other counter’s with Demi Lovato.
In another scene, showing a football player talking to a girl, on the wall behind them reads, “DOES SELENA GOMEZ EVEN HAVE KIDNEYS?” in painted or graffiti-like bold lettering.
One fan takes to Twitter, writing, “that’s disgusting. Selena almost lost her life, jokes about her kidney transplant are NOT FUNNY. Respect Selena Gomez.” In regards to the second reference, another fan noted, “the joke wasn’t funny — and went so far as to call it disgusting.”
Peacock has since apologized to Gomez.
“We apologize. It was never our intention to make light of Selena’s health.” They added, “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, who underwent surgery three years ago, has not responded to the controversy.
Saved by the Bell, that's disgusting. Selena almost lost her life, jokes about her kidney transplant is NOT FUNNY. Respect Selena Gomez. pic.twitter.com/c8AZbsU1m0
— Selena Charts (@selenachartsbr) November 28, 2020
https://twitter.com/corneliasrare/status/1332738641538539520?s=20
