'Detective Benson on my flight': 'Law & Order' superfan has wild run-in with Mariska Hargitay while wearing SVU shirt
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A 'Law & Order: SVU' superfan had the greatest surprise of her life when she ran into the show's leading lady Mariska Hargitay on a flight from Los Angeles, California to Nashville, Tennessee.
Mariska's fans were left wondering who the "shirt girl" was after the star shared a photo of a woman wearing a t-shirt with her character, Olivia Benson, and Elliot Stabler (played by Chris Meloni) on her Instagram Stories. Singer Taylor Colson subsequently identified herself on TikTok, sharing a snap of herself wearing the SVU merch as well as a selfie with her idol at the airport.
ALSO READ
Viral Meghan Markle superfan Isabelle Charters slams rumors she was PAID TO BE NICE to her
Cuteness Overload! Jennifer Garner takes Warriors superfan son to NBA courtside in rare outing
'Mariska is my mother'
Taylor shared a sweet montage of photos with her idol and Meghan Trainor’s 'Mother' playing in the background. "WHEN YOU ARE WEARING YOUR SVU SHIRT & OLIVIA BENSON IS ON YOUR FLIGHT. Mariska is my mother," she wrote.
The singer followed it up with a second video in which she recounted the incident in-depth. She described Mariska as "one of the nicest people I've ever met" and admitted that she had watched every episode of 'Law & Order: SVU' "probably 20 times." She recalled her shock when she spotted Mariska boarding the plane and couldn't wait to introduce herself. "Normally I would never say anything to anybody but because I was wearing the shirt I had to!" she explained. "So I said to her, 'this is too funny' and I pointed at my shirt and she was like 'what? I need to take a photo! I've seriously never seen anybody wearing a shirt like this in real life.' And then she made me turn around and show her kids! She was so nice, one of the nicest people I've ever met and she said after the flight we need to take a photo because you deserve it."
Added surprise
After the plane landed, Taylor found that Mariska had shared a snap of her on her Instagram Stories. She described it as "the best thing I've ever seen" and said Mariska stayed true to her promise and waited to take a selfie with her at the airport. The duo spent some time chatting together when Taylor told the actress she was a country singer. "Taylor - that's a great name to have in this business!" the actress reportedly quipped. "It was so cute how excited she was to see my shirt. Her eldest boy was like 'that's so cool!'" the superfan gushed. "They say don't meet your heroes but obviously, I did and she was amazing... the stars really aligned for this one - I'm not sure what the odds are for this - so I'm probably going to go play the lotto!"
'A dream come true'
Taylor wasn't able to meet the second star on her shirt, actor Chris Meloni, but she'll soon see him back on the show upon his return as NYPD detective Elliot Stabler, as noted by the Daily Mail. In a joint interview with People, Mariska and Chris spoke of reuniting with each other at this point in their respective careers. "Never been better," the actress said, "I mean if you had told me I'd have the career I have at this time in... the twilight of my life." Chris added, "It's just a dream come true," noting that they were "very lucky" to share such gripping on-screen chemistry. "It's effortless, and it's weird, and I always look at it as some sort of gift," Mariska agreed. "So much of it has to do with our shared sense of humor, shared perspective, our history."
Besides 'SVU', Chris also appears in 'Law & Order' and in the new spin-off series, 'Law & Order: Organized Crime'.