Add one more thing to the miles-long list of things you cannot joke about - Selena Gomez's kidney transplant. In the sixth episode of Saved By The Bell reboot, the writers included a quip about the identity of the donor of Selena's kidney. But, that did not go down well with Ms Gomez's fans who started criticising the jibe. In no time, 'Respect Selena Gomez' was trending on Twitter. However, no comment from the singer-actress was made herself. The channel and the makers had to apologise to the audience in a statement, along with a donation to charity. Selena Gomez Confidently Shows off Her Kidney Transplant Scar in Blue Swimsuit, Says She's Proud of that (View Pic).

“We apologize. It was never our intention to make light of Selena's health," Peacock, NBCUniversal and the show's executive producers said in a statement to Variety. "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."

In the episode that is in question, the phones of the students of the Bayside High have been confiscated. This leaves no way for them to substantiate claims about pop culture. "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 student says. “Prove what?" the other replies. "That you’re an idiot? It was Demi Lovato’s kidney. They’re best friends, like you and I were." Selena Gomez Shares the Private Message She Sent to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg On the Platform's Racism, Misinformation Problem (View Post).

Check Out The Scene Here:

An Angry Tweet

"We Made Everyone Write Articles About The Issue"

The joke does not seem to be about the Selena Gomez, her kidney transplant or the donor. If anything, the joke is aimed at the relentless dependence on phones, the wildfire like spreading of uncorroborated information and the obsession with pop culture news.

Selena suffers from the life-threatening Lupus disease, which she had talked about in 2015. She also underwent chemotherapy for it. In 2017, she required a kidney transplant to save her life and her good-friend, Francia Raísa, stepped up. It became a universally-applauded story about friendship and health.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 29, 2020 04:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).