Peacock has removed the controversial jokes about Selena Gomez’s kidney transplant from its Saved By the Bell reboot, Billboard can confirm.
The edited version of the episode comes following harsh criticism from fans, who slammed the reboot for making light of such a serious health matter. Soon enough, “Respect Selena Gomez” was trending on Twitter.
In episode six of the series, the Bayside High students get their phones taken away, and cannot immediately confirm pop culture news. In one scene, two students speculate who Gomez’s kidney donor is, despite the star’s public announcement that she received the 2017 transplant from her friend, Francia Raísa. “I know for a fact that Selena Gomez’s kidney donor was Justin Bieber’s mom. God, I wish that I had my phone so that I could prove it,” one character says.
“Prove what?” the other student asks in response. “That you’re an idiot? It was Demi Lovato’s kidney. They’re best friends, like you and I were.”
Another scene shows graffiti on the hallway wall that reads, “Does Selena Gomez even have a kidney?”
While Gomez has yet to address the controversy, Raísa took to Twitter over the weekend in response to apology Peacock issued. “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,” she wrote.