Peacock has apologized for a Saved by the Bell episode that referenced Selena Gomez’s kidney transplant in a brief scene as well as donated to the singer’s lupus charity following social media criticism over the episode.
“We apologize. 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,” Peacock, NBC Universal and the show’s executive producers said in statement given to The Hollywood Reporter on Saturday (Nov. 28).
Fans criticized the show on social media throughout Saturday, causing “Respect Selena Gomez” to trend on Twitter.
In the sixth episode of the reboot, which premiered earlier this week, the students of Bayside High have their phones taken away and don’t know what to do without having access to the internet. In one scene, two students argue over who donated a kidney to the singer in 2017 after she had been diagnosed with lupus years earlier, as they do not have immediate access to web resources to confirm their questions.
In 2017, Gomez shared she had a kidney transplant over the summer due to her battle with lupus, an autoimmune disease that she was diagnosed with five years prior. The singer shared photos of her donor, close friend Francia Raisa, on social media and opened up about the secret surgery in an exclusive interview on Today.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Selena Gomez’s rep for comment.
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.
