Do you want to make someone laugh? Remind them about Selena Gomez’s kidney transplant, which she underwent due to her lupus. Because autoimmune disorders that are debilitating are humorous! The actor/singer was obliged to call out people who should know better for making light of the life-threatening operation she endured in 2017 owing to a crippling autoimmune disorder for the second time in less than nine months. The joke was produced in an episode of The Good Wife spin-off The Good Fight, according to Variety, in which a group of lawyers tries to compose some jokes but first has to figure out which topics are too controversial to joke about. Necrophilia, autism, and Selena Gomez’s kidney transplant are the three theories they come up with.
Gomez’s fans were outraged by the scene, and the 29-year-old responded with a tweet on Tuesday: “I’m not sure how writing jokes about organ transplants for television programs has become a thing, but tragically it has apparently.” When one of these disgusting jokes is delivered in the next writer’s room, I hope it is quickly called out and doesn’t make it on air.”
But, rather than apologise, The Good Fight crew appears to be taking a page from its own legalese and turning the debate into a semantic one, according to a Variety insider:
“If you watch the episode in full, the reference to Selena Gomez is part of a discussion the characters are having about topics that are not okay to make fun of and the idea of cancel culture and being canceled for telling a bad joke. The reference is that Selena Gomez’s transplant is not something you can joke about.”
That isn’t exactly how it works. And if the show was attempting to make a point about cancel culture, there were plenty of other ways to do it that didn’t involve turning a young woman’s health problems into a joke. Gomez was in a similar situation in late November when Peacock’s Saved by the Bell revival made a joke about her and ended up apologizing, altering the episode, and giving a donation to Gomez’s charity. Gomez has been outspoken about her health issues, including sadness and her diagnosis of bipolar disorder. The Good Fight, it’s your turn.
