Dustin Diamond's 'Saved By the Bell' Co-Stars React to Cancer Diagnosis

Dustin Diamond made headlines this week after being hospitalized in Florida, with a statement on his Facebook page saying he was "going through some medical testing currently." A few days later, this was followed up by a statement reading, "at this time we can confirm that Dustin does have cancer. Dustin will disclose more information once it is available and a plan moving forward is made."

Though things have previously been acrimonious between Diamond and his former Saved By the Bell co-stars, and he did not appear in the Peacock reboot of the show, a number of them took to social media after news about the Screech actor broke.

Mario Lopez, who played A.C. Slater in the sitcom, was among the first to offer support to Diamond after his diagnosis was made public. Alongside shots of them together filming Saved By The Bell and at a more recent reunion, Lopez wrote: "I connected with Dustin earlier this evening and although the news of his diagnosis is heartbreaking, we remain positive that he'll overcome this. Praying for him & his family and for a speedy recovery."

Tiffani Thiessen, meanwhile, wrote "thinking of you Dustin" on her Instagram story."

So far, Lopez and Thiessen are the only members of the main Saved By the Bell cast members to pay tribute to their former co-star, who previously has been the victim of a number of death hoax stories, on social media.

In recent interviews, a number of cast members revealed they were estranged from the Screech actor, who they stopped working with in the mid-'90s.

Elizabeth Berkley, for example, told Andy Cohen in November 2020: "Honestly, I think since we finished the show is the last time I actually spoke to him, but not because of anything bad.

"I mean, he was always nice to me and he's had his journey, but really, I've kept more in touch with Mark-Paul [Gosselaar], Tiffani, Mario and then, from time to time, Lark [Voorhies]."

A representative for the actor said of Diamond's stage four cancer diagnosis to Entertainment Weekly: "He's undergoing chemo so he will be there at least another week and then we will figure out when he gets to come home. By next week, we'll have a much better understanding of the severity of his condition and what treatments he will need so that he's comfortable."

In the most recent season of Saved By the Bell, Diamond's absence from a reunion episode was explained by saying he was at the International Space Station with Kevin, his robot side-kick from a number of episodes of the show.

Per EW, however, he was in talks to return if the show was renewed for a second season.