How Rihanna Inspired an Episode of ‘Law & Order: SVU’
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has been captivating viewers since 1999. The series, which focuses on the detectives of New York City’s Special Victims Unit, is well-known for its tendency to use real-life stories and events as inspiration for the show. While there have been many notable examples of this over the years, one of the most striking occurred in 2013. Law & Order: SVU used the shocking events that took place between singers Chris Brown and Rihanna as the source material for an episode titled “Funny Valentine.” Some fans loved the real-life parallels. But others felt the storyline went too far.
What happened in the ‘Law & Order: SVU’ episode ‘Funny Valentine’?
In February 2013, Law & Order: SVU aired “Funny Valentine,” the 16th of season 14. The episode featured a sequence of events easily recognizable to any pop culture fan. According to E! Online, it featured two young singers, dubbed Caleb and Micha, pursuing their individual careers all while furthering their romantic relationship. When Micha confronts Caleb over his flirtations with a background singer, things get violent, and Caleb beats his girlfriend up.
The news of the fight goes public. Soon, there’s a media circus in the works, with fans and news outlets reporting on the situation. The episode ultimately ends with even more violence, with a nightclub fight that results in more injuries for Micha. While Caleb is tagged for his role in the tragic event, Micha lies under oath to protect her boyfriend. At the end of the episode, Caleb kills Micha when she questions his fidelity.
Chris Brown and Rihanna inspired the ‘Law & Order: SVU’ episode
“Funny Valentine” might have been fictional, but the show took a beat from a very real 2009 news story. Chris Brown and Rihanna were two up-and-coming young stars when they started dating in 2008. In early 2009, however, things went south. Brown was arrested after the two got into a physical altercation on their way to the Grammy Awards. Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna and was ordered to five years of probation.
That wasn’t the end of their story, however. Brown and Rihanna got back together in 2012. They dated for about another year before splitting in early 2013 — right around the time “Funny Valentine” aired on television. These days, Brown and Rihanna mostly remain out of each other’s orbit – although rumors have persisted that the two have remained in minimal contact.
As for the infamous Law & Order: SVU episode influenced by Rihanna and Brown’s relationship? Entertainment Weekly noted the episode featured “moments of absurdity” and claimed that the episode’s subject matter seemed a little wrong, considering the real-life scandal that inspired it.
Real celebrity scandals have inspired ‘Law & Order: SVU’ on several occasions
Law & Order: SVU has often taken inspiration from real news stories when crafting episodes. The Season 10 episode “Selfish” draws on the 2011 case of Casey Anthony, who was accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, while the Season 17 episode “Murder Book” seemed to be a take on the infamous O.J. Simpson case, with a former professional baseball player acquitted of his wife’s murder writes a book detailing how he would have committed the murder.
Law & Order: SVU even aired an episode titled “Baby It’s You,” which is undoubtedly inspired by the 1996 murder of child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey. While these true-crime-inspired stories are certainly entertaining, they typically draw mixed responses from critics and fans – proving that sometimes, certain cases can be a bit too uncomfortable for public consumption.
