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Francia Raisa might have donated one of her kidneys to Selena Gomez, but the singer, actress, and businesswoman named the organ after a comedian. The Only Murders in the Building star, who had a kidney transplant in 2017, revealed she was nicknamed “Fred” in honor of Fred Armisen.
“I named it after Fred Armisen because I love Portlandia,” Gomez told Rolling Stone, referring to the sketch comedy series. “I’ve never met him, but I’m secretly hoping he finds that out just because I want him to be like, ‘That’s weird.’”
During summer, Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa surprised their fans with a TikTok video. The pair began playing a game of odd pairing on the social media platform. Selena and Francia’s reunion came nearly five years after the Mexican and Honduran descent star donated her kidney to the singer.
“I’m very aware some of my fans had noticed I was laying low for part of the summer and questioning why I wasn’t promoting my new music, which I was extremely proud of,” Gomez wrote in September 2017 on Instagram. “So I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering. There aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa. She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much, sis.”
Years later, in 2021, Francia spoke about the life-saving kidney donation for the first time. “I think I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I feel comfortable and confident in speaking about my experience and using my platform to raise awareness for the various kidney diseases that affect our population,” she wrote. “While I wasn’t affected personally by kidney disease, I’ve seen the impacts of it firsthand and want to do my part to help educate others on it. So in honor of World Kidney Day, let’s talk about the impact of [donating a kidney].”
“It was a decision that was very faith-based and... she and I have talked about before,” Raisa explained. “It just kinda happened coincidentally, but I don’t believe in coincidences. I believe that that’s God’s way of remaining anonymous.”