A Law & Order SVU Homophobic FAIL?

by Michael Jones · 2010-03-04 09:16:00 UTC
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Law & Order SVUSeriously, everything Kathy Griffin touches apparently becomes controversial. Although this one has less to do with her, and a lot to do with Law & Order SVU producers, who chose to cut out a kissing scene from last night's episode between Griffin and series-lead Mariska Hargitay.

The kissing scene made its way into promos, no doubt to entice a whole lot of people to watch last night's show. But it was glaringly missing from the hour-long episode. And to make matters worse, producers kept in a line of dialogue that has many people seeing homophobia the morning after.

Is this a Law & Order SVU homophobia FAIL? Or are queer activists being too sensitive?

Maybe it's best to give a little context of the plot. Kathy Griffin was guest-starring last night as a lesbian in need of protection by the police department. Mariska Hargitay's character, Olivia, is a detective. Bring the two into an apartment where Griffin is being kept, and wullah! Ratings-grabbing kissing was to ensue.

But it didn't. Instead, the camera focused in on Hargitay and Griffin as they were just about to kiss, and then Hargitay's character fled the scene. And before fading to black -- cue the "ker-chunk" Law & Order sound -- Hargitay's character warns another female cop on duty to stay the hell away from Griffin's lesbian character.

Bah. Just when you think television has moved beyond portraying all things queer as gross ...

Lez Get Real rakes Law & Order SVU over the coals for the fracas. They not only take issue with the fact that the kiss was cut, but they have a beef with the portrayal of several lesbian storylines from last night's episode.

"SVU’s writers managed to characterize the worst of the lesbian stereotype. You have the crazy, agressive, split personality lesbian, the dead lesbian (because who doesn’t love a victim!) and the loudmouth activist lesbian, who really isn’t a lesbian at all," they write.

Ouch. So what do you think? Here's a YouTube clip of the promo where the kiss between Hargitay and Griffin actually happens. Why this was cut from last night's episode? Who knows. But clearly, given the concern about censorship and the negative portrayal of queer folks throughout the episode, SVU producers and writers are likely waking up this morning with a headache.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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