Law & Order: SVU To Use Trayvon Martin, Paula Deen Cases In Episode

Law & Order: SVU is known for taking real life, straight-from-the-headlines cases and putting them into the script, I.E) the Rihanna and Chris Brown episode. But, has the series gone too far?

Reports claim that the popular crime show will take inspiration from the Trayvon Martin trial in an upcoming episode. On the show, Cybill Shepard plays Jolene Castile, a famous southern chef who guns down an unarmed, hoodie-wearing black teen in whom she thought was following her on the Upper West Side, reports TV guide. The episode mixes both the controversy of the Zimmerman vs. Martin trial and the Paula Deen racism fiasco.

The episode is sure to raise some eyebrows when in airs in October. Jeffrey Tambor and Leslie Odom, Jr. will also star in the episode. “[Jeffrey] Tambor is a defense attorney representing a very high-profile celebrity woman chef who thought she was being pursued by a rapist and turned around it was a teenager. And she shot him,” Executive Producer Warren Leight told Entertainment Weekly.

The long running series has had trouble keeping up with ratings in the past year and have used major headlines to create more of a buzz. The controversial episode will air in the 15 season of the series, which begins on September 25.

Shanika Simmons