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Selena Gomez Fires Back at Criticism Over ‘Heavy’ Drinking Joke After Kidney Transplant

Selena Gomez Fires Back at Criticism Over Her Drinking After Kidney Transplant
Selena Gomez Matt Baron/Shutterstock

Selena Gomez made it clear that she can poke fun of herself online — and she isn’t here for people who can’t take a joke.

Related: Selena Gomez Through the Years

The 29-year-old “Rare” songstress shared a TikTok video on Tuesday, November 30, of her reaction to Dr. Dawn Bentel’s explanation of “heavy” drinking.

“The CDC defines heavy drinking as 15 or more drinks a week for men,” the doctor said in the clip. “And eight or more drinks per week for women.”

Gomez, who makes concerned faces in her response to Bentel’s definition of “heavy” alcohol consumption, captioned her duet on the social media app, “It’s a joke.”

Related: Selena Gomez’s Mental Health Battle in Her Own Words

In the comments section of the post, a social media user replied, “So one of your best friends gives you her kidney and you continue to drink excessively. Damn Selena.”

The former Disney star fired back, “It was a joke ass.”

Gomez underwent a kidney transplant amid a battle with lupus in 2017. Family friend and actress Francia Raisa donated her organ to the Only Murders in the Building star.

Selena Gomez Fires Back at Criticism Over Her Drinking After Kidney Transplant TikTok
Selena Gomez Courtesy of Selena Gomez/TikTok

“My kidneys were shutting down. My mentality was to keep going,” Gomez said during a joint interview with Raisa, 33, on the Today show at the time. “She lived with me during this interesting time where my kidneys were just done. That was it, and I didn’t want to ask a single person in my life. The thought of asking someone to do that was really difficult for me. She volunteered and did it. And let alone someone wanting to volunteer, it is incredibly difficult to find a match. The fact that she was a match, I mean that’s unbelievable. That’s not real.”

The Grammy nominee’s two-hour surgery took six hours amid complications.

“It’s really hard to think about or even to swallow,” Gomez said at the time of how the Secret Life of the American Teenager alum changed her life with her donation. “My energy and my life has been better.”

The “Lose You to Love Me” singer has clapped back at remarks about her kidney transplant in the past. Back in 2020, the Saved by the Bell reboot cut out a joke about who donated an organ to Gomez amid backlash for the quip. Months later, The Good Fight poked fun at the controversy and cancel culture during a season 5 episode of the CBS All Access show.

Related: Celebs Fight Back on Social Media

“I am not sure how writing jokes about organ transplants for television shows has become a thing but sadly it has apparently,” Gomez tweeted on August 3. “I hope in the next writer’s room when one of these tasteless jokes are presented it’s called out immediately and doesn’t make it on air.”

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