Ice T has dismissed a recent accusation that “Law & Order: SVU” has strayed too far from its origins and “started to become woke.” The rapper and actor has played Detective Odafin Tutuola on the NBC crime series since 2000, making him the show’s longest-serving male cast member. He is currently involved in production on the show’s 26th season.
A fan reacted to an “SVU” set photo posted by Ice T on X (formerly Twitter) by asking the star, “Did they rewrite SVU back to normal yet? It was starting to get woke.”
“What the hell is woke?” asked Ice T in a post that went viral, garnering over 4.5 million impressions and counting. “Lol. Like I care.”
Ice T returns for the 26th season of “Law & Order: SVU” alongside franchise veteran Mariska Harigtay. New cast additions for the next season include Kevin Kane as a newly promoted series regular and new addition Juliana Aidén Martinez. Peter Scanavino will also return as ADA Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr.
In conversation with diversity Speaking about his role last year, Ice T told his fans: “I’m not a cop. I’m anything but a cop.” He also admitted that playing a law enforcement officer on television has become “difficult” in recent years.
“People say our TV shows are police propaganda that puts the police in a good light. I understand that argument,” Ice-T said. “The cop I play on our show is an SVU detective… When I got the job on ‘SVU,’ Dick Wolf said to me, ‘Ice, you don’t like cops, do you?’ I told him that throughout my criminal past, I didn’t hate cops — they were my enemies. (He asked,) ‘But you admit we need them, right?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ So Wolf told me to play the cop we need. And if I play the cop we need, I’m not going to have any problems with it.”
The 26th season of “Law & Order: SVU” is scheduled to air this fall on NBC.
