‘Law & Order: SVU’ Drew From the Bill Cosby Case Years Before the Original
Law & Order has been mesmerizing audiences with its criminal intrigue since 1990. It’s no secret that real cases inspire plotlines in the TV series. And after a 12-year break, Law & Order returned in 2022 with a bang. The first episode of season 21 drew parallels to the Bill Cosby sexual assault cases. But six years earlier, the show’s spinoff, Law & Order: SVU, also broached the subject.
‘Law & Order: SVU’ introduced a Bill Cosby-esque character in 2016
Law & Order: SVU released the episode “Star-Struck Victims” on February 24, 2016.
In the episode, Detective Amanda Rollins, played by Kelli Giddish, goes undercover to catch a sex offender who keeps evading the police. The suspect is a TV actor who commits awful crimes over and over. But the district attorney is forced to drop the case due to a lack of evidence. That frustrates Rollins, who goes undercover to catch the predator.
The episode shares similarities with the Bill Cosby sexual assault allegations that first made headlines around the same time. Asked if “Star-Struck Victims” was based on Cosby, Giddish told E! Online: “Yeah, a little bit.”
‘Law & Order’ aired its own Bill Cosby-influenced episode in 2022
The first episode of the long-awaited season 21 of Law & Order aired on February 24, 2022. “The Right Thing” tells the story of a singer, Henry King (played by stage actor Norm Lewis). He stands accused of raping 40 women and drugging many of them. He’s convicted of the crimes and sentenced to prison. However, he serves less than three years because he’s released due to a previous agreement with the prosecutor not to charge him with a crime. Ultimately, King is murdered by one of the women he raped. The witnesses, including his wife, side with the killer.
The King case is a thorny one — the murder victim is someone who victimized others for decades. Detective Kevin Bernard (played by Anthony Anderson), says, “Every victim deserves respect … even the ones that raped 40 women,” according to Vanity Fair. The other detectives and attorneys all have their way of approaching the case, making it even more complicated.
The similarities between “The Right Thing” and Bill Cosby’s case are uncanny.
In 2018, Cosby was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004 when she was an employee at Temple University. More than 50 women have come forward with accusations against the legendary comedian. However, the statute of limitations on sex crimes makes it difficult to bring charges in many of these cases.
Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison at a Pennsylvania maximum security prison for his conviction. He was released on June 30, 2021. A Pennsylvania court overturned his conviction due to a “non-prosecution agreement” with a previous prosecutor, The New York Times reported.
It’s a hard pill to swallow when one of America’s favorite TV dads could have been a sexual predator.
‘SVU’ gets inspiration from real events
According to Screenrant, there are quite a few Law & Order: SVU episodes that draw from real cases. Here are a few worth mentioning:
Season 2 Episode 4 (“Legacy”): This episode draws from the murder of 6-year-old Elisa Izquierdo after her mother abused her physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Season 2 Episode 5 (“Baby Killer”): This episode is based on the fatal shooting of 6-year-old Kayla Rolland in 2000 at her elementary school. A classmate found a gun at a relative’s house and took it to school, where he accidentally shot Rolland.
Season 4 Episode 19 (“Appearances”): One of the most famous unsolved cases — the disappearance of 6-year-old JonBenét Ramsey — inspired this episode.
Season 4 Episode 1 (“Chameleon”): This episode takes inspiration from the Aileen Wuornos case. Wuornos was a prostitute who killed seven men in 1989 and 1990. She claimed each case was self-defense.
Season 16 Episode 5 (“Glasgowman’s Wrath”): This SVU episode is based on the Slender Man stabbing case of 2014. Two 12-year-old girls lured another 12-year-old into the woods and stabbed her 19 times. She survived. The perpetrators said they were trying to appease the fictional character Slender Man.
How to get help: If you or someone you know has been sexually abused, text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 for free and confidential support.
