The 'How I Met Your Father' actress opens up about her friendship with Selena Gomez.
Francia Raisa is turning her drama into salsa. The 35-year-old actress was a guest on her How I Met Your Father co-star, Josh Peck's, Good Guys podcast, and directly addressed the feud rumors between her and Selena Gomez.
"Whenever I thought about my name being in the press, I never thought about it like this," Raisa admitted. "I always thought about it from an actor's perspective."
Raisa and Gomez were friends for nearly 15 years, and in September 2017 Raisa donated her kidney to Gomez -- who needed a transplant due to her battle with lupus.
"She and I went public with our situation years ago and honestly we had to. The press got a hold of the story and we wanted to tell it," Raisa shared. "As for what's going on lately, does anyone prep you for this kind of stuff? Never. We never get prepped for this kind of stuff. It always catches me by surprise. I don't know if it's good or not."
Raisa admitted that she tries to steer clear of the comments section amid any backlash.
"I can't read the comments because I don't do well with it. I really don't," Raisa said. "Sometimes I disappear because people are mean. People are so mean. They get you right there. Someone said, 'Oh, you're just looking for attention because your career's a flop.' I'm like, 'Is it a flop?'"
She added of the kidney donation, "No one forced me to do anything. It came out of the genuine kindness of my heart."
And Raisa even took the opportunity to plug her upcoming salsa company, teasing, "You guys, there's no beef, there's salsa."
The newly rejuvenated interest in the status of Gomez and Raisa's friendship came last month when Gomez publicly wished Raisa a happy birthday in a tribute post.
"Happiest of birthdays to this special human being," Gomez wrote. "No matter where life takes us, I love you. ❤️"
In the wake of the post, Raisa reportedly refollowed Gomez on Instagram.
Despite their lengthy history and medical connect, the pair had a public falling out last year when Gomez did not name Raisa as a "friend in the industry" in an interview with Rolling Stone.
"I never fit in with a cool group of girls that were celebrities. My only friend in the industry really is Taylor [Swift], so I remember feeling like I didn’t belong," Gomez shared.
A select portion of that quote -- "My only friend in the industry really is Taylor [Swift]" -- was then shared on Instagram as a highlight of the interview. Raisa then posted a since-deleted comment that read, simply and cryptically, "Interesting."
When one TikTok user shared a video breaking down the supposed drama -- including the fact that Raisa did not follow Gomez on Instagram -- Gomez herself took to the comments of that TikTok video to address the supposed friction.
"Sorry I didn’t mention every person I know," Gomez commented.
In 2019, Raise told ET of the surgery, "I'm very grateful for the opportunity."
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