Selena Gomez Tears Up In Her First TV Interview Since Kidney Transplant
October 27, 2017
Months after undergoing a secret kidney transplant due to her battle with lupus, Selena Gomez is opening up about the life-saving surgery, which couldn't have been done without the help of her friend, Francia Raisa.
"My kidneys were just done. That was it," the singer said in a sneak peek of Today's exclusive interview with the chart-topper, which is set to air in two parts on October 30 and October 31. "I didn't want to ask a single person in my life and that was the day, when I came home, I found out she volunteered and did it." Today host Savannah Guthrie asked the singer about Raisa saving her life, to which Gomez responded, "Because she did. That's it." Watch the clip below.
Gomez made the big reveal in September and the outpour of support from folks inside and outside of the health community was undeniable. "For the last 24 hours, our phones have been ringing off the hook and our web traffic is through the roof," Lupus Research Alliance President and CEO Ken Farber told iHeartRadio via phone at the time. "It's not an exaggeration to say that Selena has done more for Lupus awareness in the last 24 hours than [anyone] has probably done for Lupus awareness in the last 24 years."
During talk about Gomez's influence beyond the pop music realm, Farber also gave the singer props for going the extra mile to be vulnerable about her health. "It's very courageous to come out and talk about your illness in front of hundreds of millions of people," he explained.
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