Mariska Hargitay previously confirmed the scene was filmed, but was replaced
Credit: Getty; NBC
NEED TO KNOW
- Christopher Meloni said “no comment” on the decision to cut a kiss scene between Benson and Stabler on Law & Order: SVU
- Mariska Hargitay revealed that the kiss was filmed years ago, but was cut by producer Dick Wolf during editing
- Hargitay is currently starring in the Broadway play Every Brilliant Thing and praised the challenge of doing live theater
A few months after Mariska Hargitay revealed that a kiss between her character, Olivia Benson, and Christopher Meloni's Elliot Stabler was cut from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Meloni is sharing his thoughts.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE on the red carpet for Hargitay's run in Broadway's Every Brilliant Thing, the actor, 65, was asked about the decision not to include the kiss.
He had a simple two-word reply: "No comment."
Credit: NBC
Meloni praised Hargitay, 62, for her Broadway debut in the play, saying that it was "super exciting" and new territory for his costar.
"This was not on my bingo card. So, happy to have a good time, support. It's an event," he said. While Meloni didn't give Hargitay any pep talks for the role, he did reveal that he "was ribbing her a lot."
"But I did that because she seemed so locked in and ready to do her thing," he explained. "So I was happy about that."
In a cover story for PEOPLE, Hargitay brought up the kiss. "By the way, this is such old news!" she said with a laugh. "This happened years ago."
In 2023, Benson and Stabler nearly kissed in an episode titled "Blood Out" during season 24. Since then, fans believed that the "kitchen scene" was filmed with an alternative scene that featured an actual kiss.
Credit: Rob Kim/Getty
“I think we felt that this moment was earned, that this thing could happen for a second — and so that's how we shot it. Don't you wish you were there for that? Yeah. We shot it a couple different ways. And then they [Wolf and others] had the choice in editing, and they [opted to use the near-kiss version rather than the kiss]," Hargitay told The Hollywood Reporter in April.
Hargitay said she and Meloni "disagreed" with cutting the kiss "because we thought that it was earned and the way it was dealt with was really complex and very beautiful and very human and showed the complexity of their relationship and all the different ways that they're connected … [But] no matter what I want, Dick Wolf can totally just say, ‘Uh, no.' "
"Because they probably didn't want it out in the press, and I said it," she told PEOPLE about confirming they did kiss.
She added, "But it was years ago. I don't even know what season it was. We had that kind of near kiss, and so we did a take the way it was scripted and then we thought about it for so long, and we just felt like, after all these years, there was just so much between us that it was a moment that happened. But Dick [Wolf] didn't think so, so he cut it. So we went to the other one. That's all it was. But the fans will probably be happy. There was a moment."
In a 2025 TVLine Spotlight interview ahead of the fifth season premiere of Law & Order: Organized Crime, Meloni spoke about experimenting with scenes.
“Guys, we were attempting something. I don't think it worked, but I'm not going to tell you why it didn't work. Have your opinion,” he said.
“I know what transpired,” Meloni continued, adding that actors don't choose what scenes make the cut. “We don't have that power. We do the best we can to be honest with the scenes we're given. … We're doing the best we can to make it honest, not make it baited. If we do bait, at least for me, I always do it with a wink.”
“I think it's good-natured, but maybe you guys are over that, and that's valid,” he added. “But what can I tell you, you give us too much credit for the power that we might have — will they, won't they, and all that stuff.”
Credit: Christopher Meloni/Instagram
Hargitay is starring in the one-woman show Every Brilliant Thing at the Hudson Theatre until July 5.
“It definitely feels like you're going out without a net, but that's also the thrill of it,” she told PEOPLE of doing live theater. “Even though I'm still challenged at SVU, I know the drill. I'm a boss lady. I can say, ‘Cut. Sorry, guys, let's go again. Can we take it from the top?' No such chance on Broadway. But that's the challenge. Bring it on, baby, let's do this.”
As for whether she feels Meloni would ever come back to Special Victims Unit, she isn't ruling out his potential return.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
"I can't imagine that I would be doing SVU till season 30 and that he wouldn't be back," Hargitay said. "That's all I can say."
Tickets for Every Brilliant Thing are on sale now.
Read the full article here
