Viraldice

Okay, internet. Let’s settle this once and for all: What exactly IS a “Christmas movie?” It’s a debate that’s torn families apart and continues to send internet armies to war. From Die Hard and Iron Man 3 to Home Alone and White Christmas, how do we decide what films get the title of “Christmas Movie”? I propose formulating a unified theory so we can finally get to the bottom of this debate.

First off, the crux of many “It’s a Christmas Movie!” arguments seems to be that the movie in question is set at Christmas. That’s the argument for Die Hard’s inclusion in the canon of holiday classics, and more recently Iron Man 3 and Shazam! This goes for other movies, too, like Batman Returns, Gremlins, and many more.

All of these movies are decidedly non-Christmasy, but they use the holiday setting in fun and interesting ways. I particularly like the superhero entries in this category—Batman Returns, Shazam! and Iron Man 3—because they use the melancholy of the holidays to emphasize their heroes’ isolation and longing for more connection to people on an emotional level. But while they play with themes and images of the holidays, the argument goes that they are not about Christmas, and therefore should be excluded as Christmas movies.

But if we define a Christmas movie as “a movie that is about Christmas,” then we end up excluding a whole bunch of holiday classics! For instance, my favorite seasonal movie is White Chistmas (yes, I know it’s problematic), but I will be the first to admit that the plot the film has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas other than being an excuse to sing the song “White Christmas” at the end. The same goes for It’s a Wonderful Life, which hits its climax at Christmas but is really more about George Bailey’s life.

You could even push this argument to cover Home Alone, which is generally accepted as a holiday film now. That movie is about a kid left alone who tries to murder a few burglars, not really about Christmas. And heck, most Hallmark-syle Christmas movies are just romances that happen to take place in small towns at Christmas …

So if we exclude movies that “aren’t about” Christmas, we get a really narrow list of true Christmas movies. We end up with The Grinch, and Elf, The Santa Clause, The Christmas Chronicles, and so on, and … is that right? I like all of those, but how narrow should our definition of Christmas even be, given that all the trees and lights and Santa etc. are mostly pagan and have very little to do with, you know, Christ.

But that doesn’t feel right. In fact, none of this does, because just like holiday traditions are only special because of what they mean to us as individuals, so too do movies become “Christmas movies” because … we love to watch them at Christmas, or whatever holiday or tradition you celebrate.

Just like anything, movies—and more importantly, the act of watching movies together—become a part of our holiday rituals. In the beforetimes, my family would always go see the latest big release on Christmas day. Because of that, for me, Star Wars has a bit of Christmas in it, as does The Lord of the Rings. We also have traditions around watching vaguely Christmasy movies no one else has ever heard of, like the 1967 Dick Van Dyke comedy called Fitzwilly that my in-laws watched so many years in a row after Thanksgiving, they wore out the tape.

So here it is, the big answer: A Christmas movie is a movie you watch at Christmas that makes you feel the holiday spirit. From the song and dance of White Christmas to the explosions and quips of Iron Man 3, if it matters to you, that’s your Christmas movie, and it doesn’t matter what anyone says otherwise.

(featured image: Paramount, Marvel)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

The post Let's Settle This: A Unified Theory to Define "Christmas Movies" first appeared on The Mary Sue.

While Mary Malone got closer to a scientific breakthrough, Will was drawn once again to the Torre degli Angeli, and Lyra took in a Paddington matinee, Mrs. Coulter and Lee Scoresby faced off on HBO’s His Dark Materials—and the Big Bad actually did a good! But if this is supposed to be some kind of redemption arc for Lyra’s evil mother, take that away from me. I don’t want it!

Sure, it’s nice that Marisa Coulter cares about her daughter and wants her to be safe from danger. It was chill of her to release Lee Scorseby so that he can protect her if she is unable to. But she’s still not good. None of this changes the fact that she oversaw an organization that tortured and killed dozens of children, at least. I empathize with her control issues and some of the struggles she faces as a career woman in a very male-centric society, but I’m not going to “yas queen” my way into stanning an actual villain. Powerful women can still be evil.

Sure, James MacAvoy’s character also killed a child to further his research, but it was just one and he felt really bad about it! I’m kidding, obviously. Lord Asriel is also on my sh*t list, even though he’s technically one of the “good guys” in this franchise. Team Lyra!

At least Lee Scoresby’s not having any of it either. “You love her,” he said to her. “It’s not enough, though, is it, love? Doesn’t mean you won’t hurt her. Doesn’t mean she’s safe with you. It doesn’t work that way.” Ain’t that the truth? He knows that her tragic past doesn’t justify her present actions. He knows that the best thing for Lyra is to keep her far, far away from Mrs. Coulter. He’s on a journey of his own, too, wherever that may lead him.

The fact that Mrs. Coulter, like many women in positions of power IRL, is aware of the harm she is inflicting on other people and their children enough to want to keep her own daughter away from it makes it worse, actually. So what if she’s looking for Lyra without the intent to kill her? That doesn’t make her better than Darth Vader, Voldemort, Count Olaf, or Nicole Kidman’s character in Paddington. It just makes her different. (I just got why it’s funny that Paddington is the movie that Lyra and Will watch when they’re hiding from the cops. Kidman played Mrs. Coulter in the Golden Compass movie! That’s cute.)

I might like her outfits. I might root for her to completely change her ways and see reason. But as long as Mrs. Coulter is still working for the Magisterium and the Holy Church in Lyra’s world, she’s still a villain. She’s going to have to do a lot more to make up for the harm she’s caused than just helping to protect her own daughter.

(image: )

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

The post His Dark Materials, "Theft": What Kind of Journey Is Mrs. Coulter on, Anyway? first appeared on The Mary Sue.

In a lengthy profile on her becoming the live-action version of Ahsoka Tano, Rosario Dawson didn't shy away from questions about her alleged anti-trans attack that has since been withdrawn from a pending lawsuit. (Vanity Fair)

Cardi B apologizes for her 37-person Thanksgiving party. Oh... oh JESUS. (Lainey Gossip)

Katy Perry is helping her dad sell bullshit bi-partisan T-shirts. (Dlisted)

Ozzy Osbourne regrets all those times he cheated on Sharon, which surprisingly, was not that long ago. I'm talking 2016. (Celebitchy)

"my father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like https://t.co/o5MCJSAV7q

— Zeddy (@Zeddary) November 29, 2020

Meet the Oregon nurse who thought it'd be smart to make a TikTok video about how she doesn't wear a mask in public and lets her son go on playdates. (Wonkette)

From Steven: Each day this week one of Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children novels is free on ebook from Tor. This is one of the most beautifully written sets of books I have ever read. It's about children who never quite belong who slip through to other worlds that are their true homes, and are trying to find their ways back there. It's like Narnia for heartbroken weird kids, and the prose is pure poetry: "Their love wanted to fix her, and refused to see that she wasn't broken." (TOR)

Tiny hate-fuck Smurf Ben Shapiro has a problem with Happiest Season now, but he's not a bigot! Totally open-minded, you guys. (Media Matters)

Now that Mae's The Mandalorian recap is up, I think about this tweet at least 47 times a day. It's my new favorite thing.

Anakin: *enters the temple*

Grogu:#TheMandalorian pic.twitter.com/PLbom9Rly5

— Ashley S. Pumpkins 🎃 (@truestorydesu) November 28, 2020

From Roxana: A deep dive into the history and resurgence of Diana's black-sheep sweater from Rachel Syme. (The New Yorker)

From Petr: A deep dive into how The Witcher video games failed to address how Geralt of Rivia is a disabled protagonist. (Eurogamer)

From reader Natalie (and her husband) comes the most important new information of 2020: We finally know what a dinosaur butthole looks like. (Slate)

Tomorrow after Cyber Monday comes Giving Tuesday, which wraps up a month of fundraising for Cannonball Read. Community financial support keeps Cannonball Read's lights on and allows them to stick it to cancer one book at a time through donations to the American Cancer Society. If you donate by midnight EST tomorrow (12/1), you'll be entered into the raffle for prizes like an autographed copy of Rainbow Rowell's Wayward Son, CBR merch, a bookstore gift card, and more. (Cannonball Read 12)

The best 45-seconds you'll spend today... pic.twitter.com/r5br3OYkva

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) November 25, 2020

Joe and Kendra Duggar would like your attention.

They have a rather important announcement to make.

The Counting On stars, who are already parents to a two-year old son named Garrett and a one-year old daughter named Addison, took to Instagram on Monday evening and revealed the gender of their next child.

Will these kids be getting a brother or a sister in a few months?

That's been the major question surrounding the TLC personalities ever since their surprising pregnancy announcement in August...

... and now we have the answer!

"We are so excited to announce that our tiebreaker is a GIRL," wrote the couple as a caption to the photos above and immediately below.

"The boys are outnumbered now! We are already in love with her and cannot wait to meet her!!!" they added.

Late this summer, the proud mother and father took fans aback upon revealing they were expecting once again, so soon after welcoming Addison into the world.

"We are so excited to announce that we have a tie-breaker coming in February," they shared at the time. "Baby #3 is on the way!"

How did their toddlers feel about the miraculous news?

"We are so excited to see Garrett and Addison's reaction when they meet the new baby," Kendra and Joe added.

"Garrett has already been such a loving big brother to Addison and we look forward to Addison's reaction to a life size baby doll.

"Life is full of surprises and we're thrilled that it is a sweet baby that surprises us this time!"

Baby number-two turned a year old just a few weeks ago.

"Happy 1st Birthday to our sweet little Addie!!!" they wrote on Instagram in celebration.

"We just adore every little thing she discovers and cheer her on every little milestone she makes.

"We're so blessed to have her in our family! Her brother Garrett loves her so much and we couldn't be more grateful for such a fun and spunky little girl to do life with."

As viewers likely recall, Kendra and Joseph began their courtship in 2017, with Joseph admitting on Counting On:

"When Kendra said 'yes,' it was such a big relief to me just knowing that now I've actually entered a new phase of life."

Later that same year, the couple got engaged ... at the wedding reception for Joy-Anna Duggar and Austin Forsyth!

Fast forward to their wedding and first-ever kiss, which must have been quickly followed by their first-ever trip to Pound Town -- and here they are now!

About to be parents of THREE!

"I've always dreamed of having my own family and it's really just kind of surreal that it’s actually here," Joseph said upon revealing child number-one was on the way.

"I kind of think it's going to be a boy, but either way, I'm happy just to have a baby."

And we're so very happy that he and Kendra are happy.

We can't wait to meet their next bundle of joy!

View Slideshow: Duggar Swimsuits: Fundie Fashion at its Hottest and Wettest!

On this season's dramatic RHOC premiere, Braunwyn Windham-Burke confessed to being an alcoholic.

Now, Gina Kirschenheiter seems to be suggesting that Braunwyn should be ... fired?

To say that Gina and Braunwyn haven't started off this season on the best of terms is an understatement.

After Gina gossiped to everyone that Braunwyn's husband was angling to get her in their next threesome, things were tense.

Now, Gina tells Access Hollywood that Braunwyn and The Real Housewives of Orange County need to part ways.

“I think that Braunwyn is still going through really a lot," Gina observes.

She notes that Braunwyn is very occupied "with this sobriety."

Gina adds that her castmate is overwhelmed in the practical sense "and emotionally."

"And her figuring out her marriage," Gina continues, "and her sexual confusion and stuff like that."

We have to stop her right there, because unless someone's trying to figure out how to fit a round peg into a round hole, it is never appropriate to refer to "sexual confusion."

This is not Gina's first time sounding, at best, insensitive. She needs to work on her tone or other people will work on it for her.

"These are major things to go through," Gina correctly acknowledges.

"And I just don’t know if this is the right venue to go through those things in,” she opines.

Meaning that she wants Braunwyn kicked off of the show ... for her own sake, you see.

“It puts us in a really kind of scary situation," Gina says of herself and her castmates.

"I feel like," she expresses, "it’s hard for us to navigate too as a group."

"But then again," Gina acknowledges of reality television and how it works, "I know that’s interesting.”

After Braunwyn opened up to Gina about her battle with alcoholism, the two blondes made a truce.

However, in October, Gina hinted that the two had once again had a falling out.

Gina sounded excessively judgmental of Braunwyn and her husband Sean Burke's marriage, referring to it being "in crisis" because of their unorthodox living situation.

Meanwhile, Braunwyn recently revealed that she is not currently on speaking terms with any of her castmates.

She of course did not offer full details for why that may be.

Braunwyn did throw particular shade at Kelly Dodd, dismissing her wedding to Rick Leventhal offhand in a spectacular display of well-earned contempt.

At present, Braunwyn and Sean are living in separate houses.

They are not "separated" in the traditional sense, and have found that this independence makes their time together more exciting.

This is is something that their marriage needs, Braunwyn has explained patiently, in order to endure.

Braunwyn has also shared that her sobriety journey has allowed more time for introspection and self-discovery about things like her sexuality.

Because her foray into alcoholism began as a young teenager, she has a lot of catching up to do in terms of searching for her identity and possibly even choosing a label for her sexuality.

Contrary to what Gina suggests, it is entirely possible to film a reality show and also weigh whether "bi" or "pan" rolls off the tongue and which has the more aesthetically pleasing Pride Flag.

View Slideshow: Vicki Gunvalson and Tamra Judge vs RHOC: Every Piece of Shade They've Thrown

A belated happy Thanksgiving weekend to my American friends and readers. We hope that you ate lots of food, were appropriately distanced from family members, and supported non-Amazon small businesses this Black Friday.

There were questions over whether families would be willing to go to the cinema this weekend for the first wide release in a while, the DreamWorks Animation The Croods: A New Age. Sure, family traditions are nice and all that but, you know, the plague is still running rampant. Would some parents be brave/stupid enough to risk it for a DreamWorks sequel? Apparently, enough of them were. The movie took in $9.7 million this weekend for a total domestic gross of $17 million. They certainly exceeded expectations there. I have a hard time getting enthused over this because it's still indicative of just how many people saw the CDC guidelines and decided, 'Nah, caveman Nic Cage is worth it for my toddlers.'

Outside of that, once again, it was the seasonal re-releases that did best. Granted, 'best' means something pretty different these days, but you could still see those extra dollars at work. In its third week of re-release, Elf increased its theater count to 683 and earned just over $320k. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation made $170k from 308 theaters, and Frozen brought in $120k from 1,367 theaters. It certainly doesn't hurt for studios like Disney and Warner Bros. to keep theater owners and chains on their good side with re-releases like this, but with HBO Max and Disney+ available pretty cheaply, I'm not sure who is enticed to risk it all for a movie they can watch at home mask-free.

There weren't any major schedule changes this week, for a change. The most notable one was the shafting of The 355 from January 2021 to the same month the following year. The spy drama stars Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong'o, Fan Bingbing, Diane Cruger, and Penelope Cruz as a group of international agents. Usually, a delay like this would signal bad news about the movie itself, but now, this is the norm for everything. Ah, this year.

You can check out the rest of the weekend box office here.

What movies did you watch this Thanksgiving weekend? Let us know in the comments.

ANTICIPATION.
Mrs Maisel with a gun? Sure, why not. 3

ENJOYMENT.
A thrilling road trip to unconventional places. 4

IN RETROSPECT.
Excited to see what both Brosnahan and Hart do next. 3

Directed by
Julia Hart

Starring
Rachel Brosnahan, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Arinzé Kene

The post I’m Your Woman appeared first on Little White Lies.

We're in a weird moment in history right now, where a vaccine is on its way, but the surge has never been higher and it's only going to get worse before it gets dramatically better. It's such a weird thing. It's like hearing that the cavalry is coming, and running out into a hail of bullets three weeks before it arrives. A cure doesn't do you any good unless you possess it!

People are just done. Maybe working from home for the last 16 years has better prepared me for this, but my instinct is to hide for three months. Then again, it's winter in Maine. We do that anyway.

Watching TV is weird, though, right? Lots of close-ups of Pops in The Goldbergs, but seemingly never in a group shot. It is fun to try and piece together how certain COVID restrictions affect how TV shows are shot.

The good news is, the vaccine is coming. Pfizer's is expected to be authorized by December 10th with the first people being vaccinated soon thereafter. Meanwhile, Moderna applied for emergency authorization today, and it's expected to be authorized on the 17th of December. In the next month, 20 million people will likely be vaccinated, and because the virus is so out of control in the United States, we may even reach herd immunity much sooner than we expected. That's not actually good news.

"We are probably going to have by the end of this year 30% of the U.S. infected...if you combine a lot of infection around the country with vaccinating 20% of the population you're getting to levels where this virus is not going to circulate as readily," says @ScottGottliebMD. pic.twitter.com/H0SV42BKZA

— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) November 30, 2020

I was looking at the numbers this morning, and maybe it's because of a reporting error or a delay in reporting, or a lack of reporting over Thanksgiving, but the numbers in Georgia right now? Over the last 7 days, they have the fourth-lowest number of new cases per capita (behind only Hawaii, Vermont, and Maine). Is that because of public health regulations? Is it because people are suddenly wearing masks in Georgia? Maybe! Or maybe it's because the virus has been running so freely in Georgia (thanks Brian Kemp!) that it's run out of vulnerable populations to infect. Likewise, the number of infections is finally declining in the Dakotas because, well, there are' only so many bloody people to infect, and it looks like the virus has run out of room to grow. There are nine states now, in fact, where 1 out of every 1,000 residents have perished. In the Dakotas, 8 percent of nursing home residents have died. 8 percent. Well done, Kristi Noem.

Did anyone else just realize today that "Moderna" is called that because they specialize in RNA vaccines? ModeRNA? No, just me? Those Moderna numbers, by the way, are outstanding! There were 30,000 participants -- half given the vaccine and the other half given a placebo. There were 196 confirmed infections -- only 11 among those who received the vaccine. ELEVEN. And while there were 30 severe cases among those who received the placebo, there were zero (0) among those who got the vaccine. Inject it into my veins, already. Literally!

One of the things that neither Moderna nor Pfizer has looked at, however, is whether the vaccines prevent transmission of coronavirus -- it prevents COVID-19 infections, but does it prevent transmission in asymptomatic people? We don't know! However, the Astrozeneca folks have looked into that, and while their vaccine is less effective, it does appear to slow transmission. Also good news! (Not so good news? AstraZeneca will have to conduct another trial before being authorized in America, although I think they're going to go ahead and roll that bad boy out in the UK0.

The timing of the rollout is all still a bit up in the air right now, but we know that healthcare workers will get it first, which is good, because then they have less to fear from Trump Republicans infected who believe it's a hoax and spit at nurses and doctors. Once healthcare workers are vaccinated, they're less likely to transmit coronavirus in nursing homes, who will be the next to get the vaccine, which is when we'll start to see the death rate drop precipitously. Essential workers will get it next, which will slow the spread dramatically. The death rate will then drop even more when the next batch of vaccines goes out to those over 65 and/or those who have underlying conditions like diabetes.

And then? With other vaccines likely to come on board, an expert on CNN expects that we will be able to return to a semblance of normal by May. That probably means that April will be semi-normal, and semi-normal might just be good enough to see the next Bond film on April 2nd without fear of killing grandma, who will be vaccinated.

Eye on the prize, people. Daniel Craig. Ana de Armas. Let's stay laser-focused.

The post Hirokazu Koreeda is preparing his first Korean-language film appeared first on Little White Lies.

Well, Jedidiah Duggar's political career may not have gotten off to a very promising start.

But at least he's playing the part of a politician by carrying on a secret affair!

Yes, as you're probably aware, at the ripe old age of 21, Jed decided to run for the Arkansas State House of Representatives this year.

Not only did he lose, he lost badly.

Jed was defeated by his Democratic opponent, Megan Godfrey, by a full 14 percentage points.

And considering she was a female Dem PhD candidate running in deep-red rural Arkansas, that's no mean feat.

Anyway, failed political careers are nothing new in the Duggar clan, and it seems that Jed is already moving on from his crushing loss.

And apparently, he's doing so with the help of a new female companion.

Rumors of Jed entering a courtship have been circulating ever since he joined Instagram back in March.

(In the past, Duggars were not permitted to join social media until after they had entered a coursthip, though the family seems to have eased up on those rules this year.)

Now, fans believe the 21-year-old has dropped a new hint that he's involved in a relationship in a recent Instagram Live posted by his sister, Jessa.

The clip shows Jed painting a pumpkin at the Fall Family Festival hosted on his parents' property in Tontitown, Arkansas.

(Yes, the Duggars property is so massive that it can be used to host a festival for the local community.)

"Are you going to paint one for your darling?" Jessa asks her brother at one point.

"Yeah," Jed replies before stopping and asking, "Wait, how did you know?"

The clip wasn't live for very long, but Duggar critics on Reddit caught wind of it, and they've been having a field day.

"Not surprised Jed is courting. I knew he’d be next. Especially after his devastating loss," one person wrote.

"Well he’s got to find a wife now so they can pretend he never ran for whatever he tried to be. Let’s cover up the loss with a COURTSHIP!" another added.

"The 'how did you know?' really makes it seem that way indeed," a third chimed in.

If you're a longtime fan of the family, then you know that courtship is a form of dating that comes with a strict set of rules and regulations.

The Duggars call it "dating with a purpose," and that purpose, of course, is getting married and popping out a whole army of babies.

No other forms of romantic entanglement are permitted, so if there's a young lady in Jed's life whom he refers to as his "darling," it seems certain that a courtship announcement is coming soon.

It's unclear why the Duggars have chosen to keep the relationship under wraps up to this point, but it's possible that they didn't want it to interfere with Jed's campaign.

View Slideshow: Duggar Courtship Rules: Do ANY Kids Actually Follow Them?

Or perhaps Jed didn't want his news to interfere with the recently-announced courtship of Justin Duggar and Claire Spivey.

Or maybe, as Duggar critics suspect, Jed has entered a courtship in order to draw attention away from his crushing political defeat.

You never know what's going on with this eternally sketchy family -- but we guess congratulations are in order!

In a word:

REALLY?!?

This sums up the reaction of quite a few Selena Gomez fans around the world, all of whom agree that the brand new Saved by the Bell reboot just went way too far with a joke about the artist.

This reboot (which has been well-reviewed as a whole) hit streaming service Peacock last week -- and almost immediately stirred up controversy via one scene in particular.

In this questionable scene from the series, a pairr of students at Bayside High are arguing about the identity of Gomez’s transplant donor.(Gomez has said it was close friend Francia Raísa.)

“I know for a fact that Selena Gomez’s kidney donor was Justin Bieber’s mom,” one character says, addding:

“God I wish that I had my phone so I could prove it."

“Prove what? That you’re an idiot,” another student replied.

“It was Demi Lovato’s kidney. They’re best friends, like you and I were.”

Then, in another scene, the words “Does Selena Gomez even have a kidney?” appear to be scrawled on the walls in the school’s hallway.

Random, right?

Aside from not being especially funny, it's just very odd that the show aired not one, but TWO references to Selena's 2017 kidney transplant procedure.

She needed due to her Lupus diagnosis... and it saved her life.

This was a very serious surgery that Saved by the Bell decided to mock.

As a result, the hashtag #RespectSelenaGomez trended on Twitter as fans expressed their outrage over the quips.

“It’s so f***ing rude and insensitive to make fun of someone’s illness just for clout,” one fan wrote.

“This affects a lot of people not just Selena who is either fighting this illness or lost people to it. The people making fun of her struggle make me disgusted.”

Added a second viewer:

This is a HUGE lack of respect, not only with Selena but with all the people who are or who have been through the same things as her.

"This matter should be brought up in a respectful manner and not in such a low and dirty."

Aware of the backlash over its lame jokes, Peacock, NBCUniversal and the program's executive producers issued the following statement over the weekend:

We apologize. It was never our intention to make light of Selena’s health.

We have been in touch with her team and will be making a donation to her charity, The Selena Gomez Fund for Lupus Research at USC.

Gomez initially revealed that she had received a kidney transplant from actress Raísa in September of 2017... after being open about her battle with lupus for many years.

“There aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raísa,” Gomez said back then as a caption to the image below.

“She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me.

"I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis.”

A month or so later, Gomez spoke to Today about the severity of her situation.

"My kidneys were just done,” she said in October 2017.

“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."

Raisa, meanwhile, also addressed this unfortunate situation on social media.

"Some of the cast and producers have reached out to me personally to apologize for this and I truly appreciate that," the actress captioned her Instagram Story.

"But I do want to acknowledge that this public apology from the network should acknowledge the donors that could have been offended by this."

She concluded:

"It's not about me, it's about acknowledging the great role that donors play @nbc @peacocktv #savedbythebell."