Selena Gomez has always had tons of dedicated fans, considering she grew up as a “Disney kid” in front of the camera before becoming a global pop star and business owner. While many people are familiar with the Only Murders in the Buildings actress’ battles with lupus, there was one aspect of her journey that Gomez kept to herself — at least until now. It turns out when she underwent a kidney transplant in 2017, she named her new organ after former Saturday Night Live comedian Fred Armisen, and she recently explained her reasoning.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Selena Gomez revealed the name she gave her new kidney, as well as the hidden agenda she had for choosing that specific celebrity. She said:
I named it after Fred Armisen because I love Portlandia. I've never met him, but I'm secretly hoping he finds that out just because I want him to be like, 'That's weird.'
Consider that tea sufficiently spilled, Selena! Fred Armisen is certainly known for all things weird, so that does seem like something he could appreciate. Armisen was part of some of SNL’s best single-season casts, where he was known for his silly-voiced character in the Californians sketches and Church Lady, among many others. His post-Saturday Night Live career has seen him creating his own unique series in Portlandia and Documentary Now!, as well as appearing in the casts of Schmigadoon!, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Forever on Amazon’s Prime Video and Our Flag Means Death (which was rated as one of the best new shows of 2022 on IMDB), to name a few.
Fred Armisen’s tendencies for the weird also apparently spill into his personal life, as Russian Doll actress Natasha Lyonne revealed in April that she and Armisen had ended their eight-year relationship because she wanted a swimming pool and he didn’t.
So now that the cat is out of the bag, and Fred Armisen could very likely find out that he’s the namesake of Selena Gomez’s kidney, is there a chance for a collaboration in the future? Gomez is already working with iconic comedians and Saturday Night Live veterans Martin Short and Steve Martin on Only Murders in the Building (available to stream with a Hulu subscription), so it’s definitely not outside the realm of possibility.
Selena Gomez got her start in the entertainment business on Barney & Friends when she was 10 years old, and rose to fame on Wizards of Waverly Place, where she played Alex Russo. In 2015 she was diagnosed with lupus, undergoing her transplant two years later. Her mental and physical struggles are documented in the recently released documentary My Mind & Me, which is available for streaming with an Apple TV+ subscription.
While we wait for any word on if the “Hands to Myself” singer ever hears from Fred Armisen about the weirdness of her kidney’s name, you can check out some of the other best movies on Apple TV+, and see what shows are premiering soon with our 2022 TV schedule.
