How Kathy Actress Really Felt About All The SVU Hate
Isabel Gillies opened up, last year, on how she felt about the hate directed at her character following an episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime.
After receiving some pretty potent online hate, the actor penned an open letter in which she questioned how bad the abuse must be for civil servants if such vile language is directed at "a second-tier character on a primetime drama".
Gillies appeared in the first 12 seasons of Law & Order: SVU playing Kathy Stabler, wife of Elliot. She then reprised the role for one final episode of SVU in season 22. In that episode, Kathy was killed, with the aftermath of her death featured heavily in season 1 of Organized Crime.
So, while Gillies didn't feature in Organized Crime, Kathy got a mention when it became clear she had tried pouring cold water on the romantic tension that was still simmering between her husband, Elliot, and his ex-partner Olivia Benson played by Mariska Hargitay.
And this reveal left some fans fuming.
One fan tweeted describing Kathy as the "nastiest, skank b***h" they've ever met. This prompted Gillies to reply with, "Met? I'm sorry, have we met?"
She also said she doesn't even watch Law & Order, and reminded fans that what the characters get up to has nothing to do with her.
"Once they buried me," she wrote, "I continued on my life as Isabel Gillies, mom, wife, mahjong player."
But she also said that after playing the character for 23 years, she could not look at this kind of hatred with a detached eye. The insults and wishes to "burn in hell" brought Gillies to tears. She even called Hargitay, who told her not to take it personally.
In her letter, Gillies asked people to "take it down a notch" and use the acronym T.H.I.N.K before posting and ask themselves, is it thoughtful, honest, interesting necessary and kind. She promised to put everything she says or does through this "fail-safe", saying she sometimes feels "the urge to spew a nasty rant" herself.
"It seems," she concluded, "we're all screaming at each other all day, every day", going on to ask. "Is it worth it? Can we stop? Can we think?"
And that seems sage advice. It's great that fans get so passionate about the shows they watch, but there has to be a line. And it's fair to say some of the comments aimed at Kathy crossed it.