Selena Gomez is speaking out after her comments about her friendship with Taylor Swift sparked an unlikely debate on social media.
Speaking to Rolling Stone in an interview published last week, Gomez described Swift as her “only friend in the industry,” adding: “I never fit in with a cool group of girls that were celebrities.”
On Saturday, E! News shared Gomez’s quote on Instagram, along with a series of throwback photos that showed the pair together onstage, on the beach and at the 2016 Grammy Awards. Among those to comment on the post was actor Francia Raísa, who has been pals with the actor and singer for more than a decade.
“Interesting,” wrote Raísa, best known for her TV roles on “The Secret Life of an American Teenager” and “Grown-ish.”
Though she has since deleted the comment, it was captured for posterity on Twitter by Pop Crave, a celebrity news account.
A day after the E! News post, TikTok user Stephanie Tleiji shared a video recapping what many interpreted as a snub.
In the clip, Tleiji also noted that Raísa had unfollowed Gomez on Instagram and was absent from the new documentary “Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me.”
Gomez responded to the allegations in the comments of the video, writing: “Sorry I didn’t mention every person I know.”
The social media discourse comes about five years after Raísa donated one of her kidneys to Gomez, who required a transplant in the wake of being diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disease.
“There aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa,” Gomez wrote on Instagram in 2017. “She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis.”
While the status of her friendship with Raísa remains to be clarified, Gomez is currently enjoying a wave of critical praise for “Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me,” which premiered on AppleTV+ last week.
The New York Times called the documentary “an honest portrait of stardom,” while Variety praised its “smart” handling of mental health issues.
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