During her downtime while preparing for her “Bite Me Tour,” odds are high Reneé Rapp will be binging episodes of her favorite TV show, “Law & Order: SVU.”
It’s no secret the multihyphenate performer loves the NBC prime-time procedural, helmed by Mariska Hargitay as Capt. Olivia Benson.
In May, she talked about the show on Amy Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast, specifically her love for Hargitay and Christopher Meloni, who played Benson’s partner, Detective Elliot Stabler, on the series for the first 12 seasons.
“I love them,” she said. “And I also kind of think Christopher Meloni is f—— jacked.”
Rapp stopped by TODAY in June to discuss her album “Bite Me” and perform a few of her hits. She also took the time to answer some questions as part of our “8 Before 8” series, lighting up when she got to a question about “SVU.”
“If you had –” Rapp began, pausing before continuing, “Whoever came up with this question, I just want to say thank you so much. You’ve done more for my community than you can even imagine.
“And my community is just me, really,” she said, laughing.
Rapp has actually done so much for another group: the LGBTQ+ community.
She publicly came out as a lesbian during a “Saturday Night Live” sketch in January 2024, after previously identifying as bisexual, and is beloved by her fans for how open she is in her work and on social media. Her dedicated fans often call themselves “young ex-wives,” a reference to Rapp’s song “Colorado,” in which she sings about moving west and meeting “Some young ex-wife/ We’d start a brand new life.”
So, her response when asked what character she would want to play on “SVU” if she had a guest-starring role makes perfect sense for her.
“Let me tell ya,” Rapp began, “I would be — Mariska Hargitay’s lover. She would be gay, finally.”
Rapp utilized her “SVU” knowledge to support her point by citing an episode from Season 11, titled “P.C.,” with guest star Kathy Griffin.
“There was an episode where they were talking about it and considering if she was gay,” Rapp recalled of Benson. “I feel like Christopher Meloni’s character was like, ‘No, like, you’re a lesbian.’ And she was was like, ‘Um, no.’ Liar.”
In the episode, Benson and Stabler work with Griffin’s Babs Duffy, the leader of a lesbian rights group, as they search for a rapist targeting gay women. Babs knows how to push both of their buttons, going in for a kiss with Benson at one point, prompting the detective to later ask her partner if he ever gets “a gay vibe” from her.
“Would it matter if I did?” Stabler says.
“You’re not answering the question,” Benson says, to which Stabler adds, “Well, it’s not like you’ve had a lot of luck with guys.”
“It’s called being married to the job,” she says.
“Did Babs make a move on you?” Stabler asks.
Benson nods, and Stabler says, “I get hit, you get hit on,” referencing a punch he was on the receiving end of from a female suspect earlier in the episode.
“I would be her lover,” Rapp confidently says now of Benson, “and we would somehow get tangled in, like, an undercover kind of miss(ion), probably with a drug empire.”
In the meantime, Rapp will embark on her tour in September, which is when “SVU” will return for its 27th season on the 25th.
About The Author
