Oop! Could there have been some real-life drama on the immensely popular crime show, “Law & Order: SVU”?
Actress Diane Neal, who played ADA Casey Novak for seven seasons on the show, allegedly called Mariska Hargitay, the actress who plays Olivia Benson, a “total b***h.” Page Six initially reported this tea was spilled in new court documents in which she also allegedly called the rest of her co-stars “awful people.”
In fact, the only person she allegedly described as pleasant to work with was Ice-T, the lawsuit claims. Neal, who made a bid for Congress, allegedly made the comments to her former campaign manager Rachael Himsel, who allegedly wrote them down in an email to an unnamed source. The email is an exhibit in a lawsuit by Neal’s ex-boyfriend, whom she accused of physically and sexually abusing her.
Neal has denied making those comments about her SVU castmates to Page Six. “Mariska and I were not the closest, but that doesn’t mean we have any animosity towards each other, we’re still very supportive of each other,” Neal said. “She’s a great mom, she’s great as Benson, she’s doing great charity work. I have never talked about the cast members like this, it’s salacious and untrue.”
Neal also said, “There is no truth to this at all. Most of the people I’ve worked with are amazing, I love almost everyone I’ve ever worked with.”
The whole lawsuit between Neal and her ex is messy and getting worse. In court documents, her ex said he actually taped Neal threatening to shoot him and hung their dog Charlie on Nov. 7, 2017.
In the tape, Neal allegedly told Ben: “I am going to kill you or I am going to sue the f–k out of you. I am going to make your life as miserable as you have made mine. The difference is, unlike me, you have nothing to lose.”
Whew, sounds like it’s getting real but I’m sure hard-core Benson fans would appreciate it if Neal and her ex leave Hargitay out of this one.