Reports suggest the two women were close for around a decade, even calling each other "sisters," and in 2017, when Gomez struggled with lupus, Raisa donated her kidney to Gomez. The singer said she was "forever grateful" to Francia. While reports speculated about a rift, the two reportedly reconciled in 2021, when Raisa shared the story about the kidney donation on social media.
However, in November 2022, Gomez published the documentary My Mind & Me, in which she described her experience with health problems - but did not mention Raisa at all. In addition, in a recent interview for a US pop culture magazine, the singer said that Taylor Swift was her only celebrity friend in the industry, once again omitting Raisa (who has starred in several TV shows and films, including The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Grown-ish).
"I never fit in with a cool group of girls that were celebrities. My only friend in the industry really is Taylor, so I remember feeling like I didn’t belong," Selena said.
After the movie was released, Francia unfollowed Gomez on Instagram, and addressed the "only friend" quote, saying it was "interesting." She later deleted the comment.
Gomez did not respond directly, but said in a comment on a TikTok video regarding the controversy, "Sorry I didn't mention every person I know."
There have been some comments from Twitterians on the unraveling controversy, with some users mocking Gomez, while others accused her of being ungrateful.