Mariska Hargitay Shares Goodbye Message to 'Law & Order: SVU' Co-Star Kelli Giddish
Mariska Hargitay is celebrating her Law & Order: SVU co-star Kelli Giddish. As viewers tuned into Thursday night's newest episode to bid a tearful farewell to Giddish's Det. Amanda Rollins, the character she has portrayed for 12 years since 2011, Hargitay, who has starred alongside Giddish as Olivia Benson, posted a special tribute of her own.
Hargitay shared her statement on Instagram, using the "Rollivia Forever" tag in the caption. In the post, the actress reflected on her time working with Giddish, writing that she's "loved acting, learning, growing, talking, laughing and crying with you." Harigitay, who also shared several photos to her Instagram stories of herself with Giddish, continued, "I've loved watching your achingly beautiful performances. I've loved watching our friendship deepen and grow and blossom. I've loved every single minute of it, and I will miss you so much." She concluded the post, "You have my respect, my gratitude and my love forever," before signing off with, "xo M."
During Thursday night's episode (warning: spoilers ahead!), Giddish's character was written out of the series after she accepted a new position as a forensic psychology teacher at a local university. Prior to the episode, which also saw the character marry ADA Dominick "Sonny" Carisi and came months after Giddish's exit was first announced in August, Giddish took to Instagram to post a carousel of photos from her time on SVU. Writing, "To everyone who supported Rollins – THANK YOU," the images included several photos of Giddish with her co-stars, including Hargitay, who responded to the post by writing, "I love you lady. Now and forever!"
Hargitay wasn't the only SVU member to pay tribute to Giddish and her character. Former SVU showrunner Warren Leight tweeted, "When we first started writing for [Kelli Giddish], I wondered if there was anything she couldn't do. Emotion, exposition, authority, vulnerability, empathy... I soon realized, no matter what we came up with, she'd always make it work, seemingly without effort. It's been a privilege."
Thursday's episode concluded Giddih's 12-year tenure on SVU, which began in 2011. The actress confirmed in August that she would leave the long-running procedural in Season 24, writing, "Playing Rollins has been one of the greatest joys and privileges of my life. I've been so fortunate to be a part of the Law & Order family for the last 12 years." While she has stepped away from SVU, Giddish is set to reprise her role as Rollins on the spinoff series Law & Order: Organized Crime later this season.