MARISKA & MELONI BAILING AFTER SVU MAKES BIG CHANGE
FURIOUS TV cop Mariska Hargitay is set to leave Law & Order: SVU after her best pal Kelli Giddish was given the boot in a coldhearted shake-up by show bigwigs, tipsters tattle.
When 42-year-old Giddish announced this season will be her last after portraying Det. Amanda Rollins for a dozen years, fuming Hargitay, 58, prepared to turn in her badge as Capt. Olivia Benson, insiders dish.
“The SVU producers wanted to shake up the show and they decided Kelli had to go,” a source says.
“Mariska was up in arms when she was informed Kelli was getting axed, and she went to bat for her every way possible.
“She told the brass they are trying to fix something that isn’t broke — and Kelli is integral to the show.”
But the kingpins “turned a deaf ear,” leaving Hargitay “infuriated,” says the source.
“Now she swears she’s going to follow Kelli right off the set when this season wraps up.”
A source notes Hargitay and Giddish became “incredibly close” working together for more than a decade.
Following Giddish’s announcement that she’s been canned, Hargitay posted a cryptic message, quoting Ernest Hemingway: “You are so brave and quiet I forgot you are suffering.”
The source says Hargitay, who played Benson for two dozen years, was planning on doing a landmark 25th season, “but seeing the way Kelli was treated after all her years working her butt off, it’s sapped her of her enthusiasm.”
Meanwhile, other beloved stars planning their exit following the season include Law & Order’s Sam Waterston, 81, and Law & Order: Organized Crime’s Chris Meloni, 61.
“Chris loves playing Stabler, especially when Stabler and Benson cross over onto each other’s shows the past two seasons,” the source says.
“But with Mariska intent on riding off into the sunset, he doesn’t see much reason to continue.”