Ice-T responds to fan who claimed ‘Law & Order: SVU' is too ‘woke'

Ice-T is clapping back at a fan who criticized "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" for being too "woke."

On Aug. 27, Ice-T delivered a sharp reply to an X user who complained the long-running television series is now “woke.” The exchange occurred after the actor, best known for his role as Detective Fin Tutuola in the show, shared a photo from the set of its 26th season.

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Did they write SVU back to normal yet? It started to go woke

— Nicole T (@NicoleTenev) August 27, 2024

“Did they write ‘SVU’ back to normal yet?” the user who goes by the handle @NicoleTenev wrote in reply to the post. “It started to go woke.”

“What the F is Woke? lol Like I give a F---,” the actor fired back.

Users in the comments section were quick to debate the evolution of the series, which has often drawn plot points from current events.

“Writing about current day issues is not woke. It just doesn’t fit what you want you think it should be,” one user argued. “Good try though.”

“I dislike their incorrect use of the word ‘woke’ but there IS a notable difference in SVUs position on things, so they aren’t lying on this,” another countered. “Early seasons honestly had much more of a pro-life position and they were not considered towards LGBTQ+ stories. I like the change.”

Read on for more about Ice-T's role in the series.

What season of Law and Order SVU did Ice-T join?

The rapper-turned-actor made his first appearance in “Law & Order: SVU” when he joined the series’ second season in 2000. In the first episode of the series, Detective Tutuola is introduced as a reassignment from another department tapped to fill in for Detective Monique Jeffries (Michelle Hurd), who was moved to desk work.

In a February 2024 interview with Entertainment Weekly, the rapper explained that he'd only expected to come on for a four-episode series arc.

"It was interesting, because I only came on for four episodes, so I didn’t know how long I was going to have to be around the people," he explained. " You’re walking into a room full of people you don’t really know. I didn’t know Chris (Meloni), I didn’t know Mariska, so I was just trying to be good. But it was difficult, because they had written a character for me. I was wearing suits. There was a backstory that was strange. And once they decided to keep me on the show, Dick Wolf ripped away that backstory. He told me, 'Ice, you’re not fond of cops, are you, in real life?' I’m like, 'Well, I used to break the law'... He said, 'But you admit we need cops.' I’m like, 'Yeah.' He said, 'Play the cop we need.' And that was it. Fin was born."

What happened to Detective Tutuola?

In the series, Tutuola was paired up with Detective John Munch (played by actor Richard Belzer). He later partnered with Detective Chester Lake (Adam Beach) and Detective Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish). In Season 18, he became an NYPD Sergeant.

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