‘Law & Order’: Ice-T Says the Show Tried to Be ‘Fair’ With Black Representation
Stars in the Law & Order franchise have been reacting to the news publicly. Ice-T, who plays Odafin Tutuola on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, is one of the most outspoken actors.
He recently reflected on representation of the Black community in the show. Find out why he thinks it tried to be fair and more.
Ice-T said his ‘Law & Order’ role is not stopping him from speaking out
The actor responded to a report about George Floyd’s death in a tweet on May 26. He tweeted, “They Killed another Brother.. On Video.”
One of his fans tweeted “This whole black and white thing is becoming exhausting. Every human deserves respect and dignity until they prove otherwise. I feel terrible for the families that have lost a loved one, no matter wtf color they are.”
Ice-T responded with “I agree with you’re [sic] last statement.. But its NOT exhausting when its happening to you… That’s like me telling a woman to let women’s rights go.. Unfortunately there is a VERY serious racial problem in the US.. Some of us live it.”
He later tweeted, “I play a cop on TV… But I’ll NEVER stop speaking about injustice… EVER. F that.”
He responded to Dick Wolf firing a writer over protest tweets
There will be a new Law & Order spinoff starring Christopher Meloni, who played Detective Stabler on Law & Order SVU. A writer for the upcoming show was fired. Craig Gore made multiple posts on Facebook. One of them was about restrictions in Los Angeles in respondse to the Black Lives Matter protests.
One showed him holding a gun with the caption, “Curfew…” Another post included the phrase “light mother******* up who are trying to **** with my property.”
Producer Dick Wolf gave a statement to Variety regarding the decision to fire him after this. “I will not tolerate this conduct, especially during our hour of national grief. I am terminating Craig Gore immediately,” he said.
Ice-T reweeted Wolf’s statement and wrote “Oh s h*t … The Big Boss is cleaning house … RESPECT.”
He said the show tries to be fair
The actor talked to Page Six about the longevity of Law & Order: Special Crimes Unit. He thinks there is a reason it lasted so long.
“It’s tried to be as fair as it can possibly be … You have got the black gang bangers, but you have also got the black judge, you’ve got the black attorney,” he said. That doesn’t mean everything on the show is realistic.
“I am wearing Gucci. Mariska [Hargitay] is wearing designer clothes,” the former rapper admitted. “Cops can’t afford to do that, so in a way we romanticize that job when it’s not that romantic.”
The show is one of many that stopped production due to the pandemic. It’s unknown when will go back into production.
