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'Law & Order: SVU' Season 22: Did White men and 'Karens' get Black man arrested? Internet slams 'Fake BLM'

'This SVU exposed and brought so many diff things to light in just one episode. Karens, arresting black men bc of those Karens, fake it BLM supporters,' a fan wrote

‘Law and Order: SVU’ has returned for its 22nd season amid speculations that it might depict racism and police brutality. While the show dropped names of Black victims killed by police like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the show garnered mixed reactions. A section of fans felt that the show did a splendid show in profiling systematic racism however others felt that racism was forced in some places. Many people praised the show for exposing a White woman as a Karen exuding a sense of entitlement and getting a Balcak man arrested in the show on baseless grounds. 

For the unversed, Season 22 Episode 1 of the show, titled ‘Guardians and Gladiators’ did not honor cops and the NYPD detectives. The show depicted how a Black man named Jawon was arrested wrongly by the elite NYPD squad led by Olivia Benson(Mariska Hargitay) after a White woman casually complains against him without any proof of a crime committed by the man. It is later found that the woman has a history of making false accusations. Jawon is also blamed for causing harm to a Filipino rape victim as alleged by the White woman, however, he gets released later and threatens to sue cops. 

The show also reveals a white guy who is seen as a witness in the crime scene but turns out to be a suspect in the end. The White man named Joe Murphy shot a video saying, "Defund the police” heralding his disdain for cops but when detective Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) goes to see him, he says that he was on the side of the police, and calls Jawon a "thug."
 
No sooner than the people saw the show they said that the Whites shown in the show were Karens and must be exposed as SVU did. However, others felt the show did not do justice to throwing light on the Black Lives Matter movement that captured the imagination of the public and criticized the show for promoting a "fake BLM" movement. A user wrote on Karens' calling cops, “This new episode of law and order SVU has given me life! The police controversy, 'Karens' calling cops on black men, Covid, face masks, social distancing and facing police biases has given me all the feels!” Another concurred, “Karens/Kens need to start being charged for calling cops filing FALSE complaints on PEOPLE OF COLOR. Maybe if these police depts would start holding these clowns responsible the other ones will think about it a few times. People also need to start suing them also.”

A user praised SVU for its portrayal of Karens, “This SVU exposed and brought so many diff things to light in just one episode. Karens, arresting black men bc of those Karens, fake it BLM supporters who are the real suspects, the black men and women making the yt cops listen to us and not letting them off easy, COVID, etc.” Another wrote on the White lady’s privilege, “Lmaoo white lady on svu that called the cops on a black guy for no reason “I swear I’m not one of those Karen’s.’” A user concurred, “When a white woman has to say she is not a Karen, she most likely is a Karen! #SVU”. Another wrote on White women, “Ok this ep, 22.01...at end of the day if this doesn’t translate to actual scenes 4 remainders of the series, where viewers see an actual shift in their policing on screen, then this episode only capitalizes off of black pain all while centering a white woman. #SVU” 

'Law & Order: SVU' Season 22 premiered on NBC on Thursday, November 12, at 9/8c.