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3w ago

Reneé Rapp Pitches Guest Role as Benson’s Lesbian Lover on SVU

The star’s suggestion reignites conversation about Olivia Benson’s sexuality as Rapp returns from an acting hiatus to promote her new album.

Mariska Hargitay attends the premiere of 'My Mom Jayne' in New York City.
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Reneé Rapp; Mariska Hargitay on 'Law & Order: SVU.'
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Overview

  • On August 4, speaking on NBC’s Today show, Rapp said she would love to play Captain Olivia Benson’s gay lover caught up in an undercover drug-empire mission.
  • Rapp’s comment comes as she pauses her acting career to focus on her sophomore album Bite Me and follows her public coming-out as a lesbian on SNL in January 2024.
  • The idea revives long-running fan speculation after SVU’s season 11 “gay vibe” tease and a near-kiss between Benson and Elliot Stabler was cut in season 24.
  • Mariska Hargitay has suggested a Benson–Stabler romance might not unfold until the series finale, and Christopher Meloni has acknowledged he’s “f—ing trying” to deliver an on-screen kiss.
  • Rapp’s proposal underscores broader calls for explicit LGBTQ+ representation on the 26-season NBC procedural.