'KELLI IS MY HEART'
Law and Order: SVU’s Mariska Hargitay slams ‘wrong’ call to fire Kelli Giddish and is ‘fighting’ to bring her back
Kelli returned for the Season 25 premiere of the show despite reports it wasn't her choice to leave
LAW And Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay recently spoke out in support of a cast mate.
The 60-year-old actress was featured as a cover star in a popular magazine this month and discussed her 550th episode of Law and Order.
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Mariska celebrated her iconic role as Olivia Benson and said she was proud of her job.
"The world and the culture needed an Olivia Benson, needed somebody to talk about these things and fight for survivors and believe victims,” she told Variety.
“The inception of the show was so genius that way, because Olivia was the loving mother that we all want and Stabler was the angry, protective father.
"It was this beautiful, perfect construct of what an injured soul needed,” she concluded.
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Mariska was then asked about Kelli Giddish, who left last season.
"Kelli is my favorite actor to work with,” Hargitay said.
“Kelli is my heart. It’s a sore subject. I have a lot of say on the show, but I didn’t have enough there.”
Mariska said she fought to keep Kelli in the show.
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"I don’t like not being listened to, especially when I’m right,” she explained.
“That relationship was one of the most powerful relationships in television because you saw these two badass women, so flawed and so there for each other.”
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Kelli left the show earlier this year, which reportedly was not her decision.
According to Variety, "Kelli Giddish’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit exit was not her choice, nor was it a decision made by showrunner David Graziano."
The decision, made by higher-ups, was partially to ensure that the show would always remain as up-to-date as possible.
Variety also reported, "Mariska Hargitay, who is both the star and an executive producer on the Dick Wolf drama, as well as at least one other producer, pushed to keep Giddish on the procedural, but the decision had already been made."
SAD TIMES
In addition to potentially wanting to bring some new blood to the squad, SVU executives reportedly couldn't agree with Giddish regarding her contract or Rollins' future on the show.
Kelli released a statement regarding her leaving
“I wanted to address the chatter I’ve seen online and let everyone know that this will, indeed, be my last season on ‘Law & Order: SVU,’" she wrote.
Kelli is my heart. It’s a sore subject. I have a lot of say on the show, but I didn’t have enough there.
Mariska Hargitay
She went on to say that playing the character of Rollins had been one of the greatest joys and privileges of her life.
"There is simply no other character on TV like Rollins," she said.
"She’s grown and changed, and I have as well."
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"I started on this show when I was in my late 20s and I’m grateful I got to spend so many of my adult years with Rollins in my life.”
Kelli returned as a special guest star for the Season 25 premiere, but it's unclear whether she'd feature in future episodes.
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