Selena Gomez slams 'tasteless joke' about her kidney transplant in 'The Good Fight'

• Selena Gomez has responded to a scene in "The Good Fight" which references her kidney transplant.
• She referred to it as as a "tasteless joke" on social media.
• A show source told Insider the scene was saying Gomez's transplant wasn't a topic to joke about.

Selena Gomez has responded on social media to a reference to her kidney transplant in an episode of "The Good Fight."

The actress and singer spoke out on Twitter about a scene from the latest episode of the Paramount+ show. According to Variety, the scene, where the show's characters are brainstorming joke ideas for a TV executive, included a discussion of what topics are now considered inappropriate for jokes.

One character mentions "Selena Gomez's kidney transplant" alongside necrophilia and autism as off-limits joke topics in the scene.

"I am not sure how writing jokes about organ transplants for television shows has become a thing but sadly it has apparently," Gomez wrote on Twitter. "I hope in the next writer's room when one of these tasteless jokes are presented it's called out immediately and doesn't make it on air."

-Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) August 3, 2021

Gomez's fans quickly voiced their support online. "Respect Selena Gomez" soon became a trending topic on Twitter.

In a follow-up reply to her first tweet, the 29-year-old actress addressed fans' support, writing, "My fans always have my back. LOVE YOU. If you are able to please sign up to be an organ donor."

Gomez received a kidney transplant in 2017 from her friend and fellow actress, "Grown-ish" star Francia Raisa, after being rushed to the hospital due to kidney failure caused by autoimmune disease lupus.

A source close to the show told Insider that, in the context of the scene, the reference was not a joke about her transplant.

The source said: "If you watch the episode in full, the reference to Selena Gomez is part of a discussion the characters are having about topics that are not okay to make fun of and the idea of cancel culture and being cancelled for telling a bad joke. The reference is that Selena Gomez's transplant is not something you can joke about. We hope you can watch the episode to understand it is the complete opposite of the topic being made light of."

Gomez's representative didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

This is not the first time a TV series has stirred controversy for referencing Gomez and her health. Last year, Peacock's "Saved by the Bell" received backlash for making light of Gomez's transplant in two separate scenes.

Representatives for the show subsequently apologized after being called out on social media, saying in a statement previously shared with Insider's Darcy Schild via email: "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."

And Gomez isn't the only high-profile celebrity to hit back at what she feels is a negative reference. Earlier this year, both Taylor Swift and Suki Waterhouse have responded to their names being dropped in Netflix's "Ginny and Georgia" and HBO Max's new "Gossip Girl" series, respectively.