Saved by the Bell Reboot Cuts Selena Gomez Jokes Following Backlash

All ten episodes of the Saved by the Bell Reboot premiered on Peacock last week and the series quickly came under fire after one episode had a joke about Selena Gomez‘s kidney transplant from 2017. Now, just five days after the series’ premiere, People has confirmed that the two scenes that were in the episode that featured the jokes have been removed. In the episode a group of students speculates on the validity of the story that Gomez received a transplant from her friend Francia Raisa and even argued that it could be untrue. One argued it was Justin Beiber’s mom and then another suggested singer Demi Lovato is the one who helped out. The joke didn’t sit well with Gomez’s fans on social media.

“We apologize,” Peacock, NBCUniversal and Saved by the Bell’s executive producers wrote in a statement. “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.”

Raisa expressed her disappointment on Saturday regarding the jokes, and even the apology statement, tweeting: “Appreciate the apology but let’s not forget about the donors that potentially felt offended and dismissed from the spray paint written on the wall.”

The Grown-ish actress previously described the ordeal in her own words when everything happened in a video for SELF, adding: “It’s going to be hard, the recipient is going to glow and she’s got to recover a lot faster than the donor because she’s getting something she needs and you are losing something you don’t need to lose. It’s going to be hard. And it was very hard… Your scars don’t define you It’s a part of your story. It’s a part of the story that makes you special and you different.”

Despite the series coming under fire for this gag, the series has managed to gain a 77% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. ComicBook.com’s own Jamie Jirak awarded the series a “4 out of 5” and wrote:

“Between the focus on social awareness and solid writing, the Saved by the Bell reboot has a real chance to have the longevity of the original series. By showcasing kids of color, casting a transgender actress as the school’s most popular girl, and teaching important lessons through light-hearted fun, the new Saved by the Bell has the potential to positively impact younger audiences. By incorporating little details like Zack’s classic portable phone and Slater saying “mamma,” this show is also a winner for original fans. Based on the first few episodes, the new Saved by the Bell is absolutely worth a Peacock subscription.”

(Cover Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)