Keke Palmer recently opened up about her unforgettable encounter with Mariska Hargitay during a guest role on a 2005 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode.
In a BuzzFeed Puppy Interview to help promote her new book titled Master of Me, Palmer confessed she was momentarily left speechless while on set with the iconic actress who played Olivia Benson.
Palmer stated that she had been watching the show since she was a child, and to be on the set with Hargitay was an honor. The Rags actress said, “I grew up watching her show and living for her show all my life as a kid, and I got the opportunity to work with her when I was 12 years old.”
In the episode where Palmer played a guest role, her character is a young girl rescued from Hurricane Katrina who, in the hospital scene, was struggling to survive. When Hargitay walked in as Olivia Benson, Palmer said she became overwhelmed and even forgot some of her lines, thinking that this fictional moment was real.
She gushed about the moment, saying, “[Hargitay] walks through that door, and I became speechless, y’all. I forgot how to act. I thought I really was from Katrina and was on my last breath. I could not believe that the woman that had saved all these young girls and these young boys was here to save me. I was in deep shock for most of the scene. I told my mom, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t think, I can’t talk. This is Olivia Benson.'”
The Hustlers actress starred in the episode Storm (Season 7, Episode 10), as Tasha, who was subjected to trauma after being kidnapped. Tasha assisted Detectives Benson and Stabler in finding her abductor and rescuing her sibling.
Years later, when Keke Palmer sent a DM to Hargitay to once again let her know how big of an inspiration she has been, Hargitay replied warmly, professing pride in Palmer’s achievements and reminding her of a great time on set.
