Mariska Hargitay is revealing more details from her now-viral moment in helping a little girl. During a new interview, the 60-year-old actress recalled how a child approached her on the set of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit to ask for help, thinking that Mariska was a real police officer. The young girl couldn’t find her mother for a moment and walked up to Mariska while she was filming a scene of SVU last month.
“I don’t know that I was mistaken for a police officer. This little angel girl was in need and we connected, and I could see that,” Mariska told Entertainment Tonight on Thursday May 2, while attending Variety‘s Power of Women Event Presented by Lifetime in New York City. “So, I did what any mother on this planet would do.”
Fortunately, the girl was able to reunite with her mother shortly thereafter. Although Mariska hasn’t been in touch with the mother-daughter duo, the NBC star told the outlet that she “got to hug her mom and her, and it was beautiful.”
An insider also told ET what happened that day. “Mariska was filming with Ice-T and was interrupted by a little girl walking into the scene. She walked straight to Mariska,” the eyewitness said, adding that Mariska stopped filming the scene to assist the child.
Paparazzi captured the moment, and videos quickly circulated on social media. In one clip, Mariska picked up the little girl to carry her for a moment while others helped relocate the mother. Upon seeing the viral moment, X users couldn’t help but gush over Mariska’s caring personality.
“I ADORE MARISKA HARGITAY,” one person tweeted, adding, “So many actors would’ve palmed the little girl off to someone else to deal with instead of going with her and finding her mum and halting production. Such a legend!”
In addition to her selflessness, Mariska was also honored for her advocacy for sexual assault survivors at the Power of Women Event Presented by Lifetime this week. The actress delivered a moving speech about the importance of women’s voices and called out the overturning of Harvey Weinstein‘s conviction.
“I do want to say something about the overturned Harvey Weinstein conviction,” she began. “Specifically about the reason it was overturned: Too many women’s voices. Too many women were allowed to speak. … Risky to let women speak? You’re damn right it is. Too many women speaking brings change.”
If you or anyone you know has been sexually abused, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing, recovering and more.