Law & Order: SVU Scene That Made Kelli Giddish Tear Up
Fans weren't the only ones who cried during that scene.
For almost quarter of a century, the beloved officers of the Manhattan-based Special Victims Unit have been solving terrible crimes of sexual harassment and abuse. On May 18, Season 24 of Law & Order: SVU finally came to an end — and let's face it, it's been a long time since a procedural gave viewers so much satisfaction… and tears.
One of the reasons for tears was the departure of Kelli Giddish, who played the fan-favorite Detective Amanda Rollins since 2011. The actress' exit from the show was announced last year, and yet, her very last appearance in SVU Season 24 was incredibly sad for fans and the actress herself.
According to reports, Giddish didn't leave the project of her own volition but was forced to quit because of a conflict with NBC over low salaries. However, this doesn't mean that she holds a grudge against the team and other cast members. In fact, Kelli said she was happy with the way the writers had written her character out of the show.
'Well, [Amanda] got a rare happy ending. That's a huge legacy. You won't remember her for, like, the gruesome way she got murdered. You'll just remember that character went through a whole hell of a lot and they gave her a happy ending. That's kind of awesome,' Giddish said.
In the ninth episode, Amanda finally gets married to Sonny with Benson, Tutuola, and Velasco by their side as witnesses. After the ceremony, she and Olivia Benson spend some time together in a motel, discussing the marriage and Amanda's plans for the future. It was this scene that made Kelli Giddish incredibly emotional.
'I was doing the lines and all of a sudden I couldn't talk. So, I was like in this booth… watching and I was like, "Hold on, hold on. I'll be back with you. Just give me a second",' the actress said. 'You know, and wiping away my own tears… and I texted Mariska. I was like, "I just had to do our scene and actually put on makeup today and now it's all over my face."'
The characters met again in the season finale, which revealed that Amanda started a job as an adjunct professor of criminal behavior at Fordham University and was pregnant with her third child with Sonny.
Source: Entertainment Weekly, The Nerds of Color.