'Law and Order: SVU' Star Mariska Hargitay Speaks out in Midst of Brett Kavanaugh Assault Hearing

While Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee about Supreme Court [...]

By Libby Birk

While Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, whom she says sexually assaulted her in the early 1980s, Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay is showing a literal sign of support.

The actress, who is well known for advocating on behalf of sexual assault victims' rights off screen as well as on, shared a graphic to social media that said "Believe survivors."

"#BelieveSurvivors #SupportSurvivors #IBelieveDrBlaseyFord. Sending strength and courage and self-care to survivors today, as I carry you and your stories in my heart," Hargitay captioned the post, adding the hashtag #YouMatter.

Other celebrities, like I Feel Pretty star Busy Philipps and Charmed star Alyssa Milano, have also offered support for the college professor as she testifies.

Philipps revealed in an emotional Instagram post that she was raped when she was 14 years old, something she said she had not disclosed to anyone except her family at this time. In the post, which was a photo of her at age 14, she wrote, "This is me at 14. The age I was raped. It's taken me 25 years to say those words."

She added that she wrote about the assault in her upcoming book, This Will Only Hurt a Little, but that she hadn't actually told anyone until recently. "I wrote about it in my book. I finally told my parents and sister about it 4 months ago. Today is the day we are silent no more. All of us. I'm scared to post this. I can't imagine what Dr. Ford is feeling right now," she wrote.

Milano attended the hearing in person as a guest of ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

"We're here to support [Blasey Ford] and show our solidarity. This can't be an easy day for her," Milano said in a video message shared to social media.

Meanwhile, Blasey Ford is responding to questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill about her accusations against Kavanaugh. She is expected to answer to questioning from 21 different committee members and has called for an FBI investigation into Kavanaugh, who is also scheduled to testify later Thursday.

The hearing is expected to last into Thursday afternoon. Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has scheduled a vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation for Friday.

In addition to Blasey Ford, two other women have publicly accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, both stemming from around the same time as Blasey Ford's accusation.

Kavanaugh has denied all allegations against him.

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