Did Francia Raisa Just Compare Herself To Martin Luther King For Giving Selena Gomez A Kidney?!

Francia Raisa thinks she deserves high praise for giving Selena Gomez a kidney. And NOT all this negativity!

On Monday’s new episode of The Art of Kindness podcast, the How I Met Your Father alum opened up about her decision to donate a kidney during the Disney Channel alum’s battle with lupus. As we all know, it was an amazingly selfless thing to do. The besties made the press rounds together to share how the 2017 transplant came to be. But then they had a major falling out, something made obvious to fans when the Single Soon singer called Taylor Swift her “only friend in the industry” in 2022!

While in recent months the pair has started to reconcile and have even been photographed together, it’s still a HOT topic for fans! And Francia has a lot to say about the scandal that followed her good deed!

When asked on the podcast what she would consider her biggest act of kindness, the actress didn’t hesitate to say:

“Besides donating a kidney, what? It was definitely a personal choice. It was definitely just an act of kindness no matter what the rumors are.”

As for the negativity she has since faced, well, that’s when her comments got a little… controversial? When talking about getting attacked online after her generous act, Francia jumped to the comparison with someone else who got negative attention… civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.! Yeah, for real. She said:

“Listen, we experience it with every hero in the world. I’m sure there was bad stuff written about Martin Luther King after he passed. People are always just gonna look for something negative.”

OK, obviously she’s not wrong — MLK upset as many people as he inspired, notably the white supremacists who murdered him. And yes, people continued to find terrible things to say about him after his death. But is this a fair comparison for the actress to be making?! Even if she did donate an organ? Of ALL the people she could’ve named-checked, why was this movement leader at the top of her mind when talking about the online vitriol she’s facing? Feels a little odd, right? A bit like Tom Sandoval shockingly comparing his cheating scandal to George Floyd‘s murder?

No matter what you think on that front, The Secret Life of the American Teenager alum had a LOT more to say on the topic! She went on to acknowledge that some of this scrutiny comes with the territory, adding:

“I put myself in a position where people are interested in my personal life — I wish that wasn’t so crazy. Sometimes people need a distraction from their own life. If I’m that distraction, I guess I just have to be grateful that people care about my feelings. Yeah, it was something I just did because I really felt called to do it and I’ve been blessed since.”

As for regrets, she has none — and that’s not just because she helped save the Only Murders in the Building lead’s life! She noted:

“My first audition was two weeks after surgery, [it] was Grown-ish and I booked it. I’ve just been on my own journey ever since. It definitely did a lot for me. My favorite thing is I’m able to talk to other donors.”

Nothing beats good karma!

But what do you think about her comparison tho?? Was her MLK analogy apt? Or did this come across as way self-aggrandizing to you? Sound OFF (below)!

[Image via Selena Gomez /Jimmy Kimmel Live /History /YouTube]