Dick Wolf, the creator and executive producer of Law & Order, has fired writer-producer Craig Gore in response to Gore’s controversial social media posts about the Black Lives Matter protests taking place across the country. Gore was originally hired by Wolf to write and produce on the new spinoff, Law & Order: Organized Crime. His past writing credits include shows such as S.W.A.T. and Chicago P.D.
Gore’s Facebook profile garnered negative attention yesterday after he posted a picture of himself wielding a gun with the caption “Curfew…” He then threatened in the comment section to “light motherf***ers up who are trying to f*** w/ my property.” His post was in direct response to the protests and looting happening this week in Los Angeles – as well as other major American cities – after the death of George Floyd incited a national eruption over racial tensions.
Wolf issued a statement via Twitter this afternoon explaining his decision to fire Gore from the show. “I will not tolerate this conduct, especially during our hour of national grief,” he wrote. “I am terminating Craig Gore immediately.” However, Wolf was not the only one to issue a statement on the matter.
Actor Chris Meloni, star of the spinoff, issued his own response to Gore’s firing after writer-comedian Drew Janda tweeted screenshots of Gore’s Facebook post at Meloni and referred to Gore as Meloni’s “new showrunner.” In response, Meloni clarified in a reply tweet that Matt Olmstead – not Gore – is the spinoff’s showrunner. Meloni also explained that he has “gotten no word on ANY hirings” and added that he has “no idea” who Gore is.
In March, NBC ordered 13 episodes of Law & Order: Organized Crime after Meloni signed on to star. The series will see him reprise his beloved role as Detective Elliot Stabler from Law & Order: SVU, which scored him an Emmy nomination in 2006. This spinoff marks his official return to Wolf’s franchise since leaving SVU in 2011 after a pay dispute with the network. NBC has yet to release extensive details on the show, although they have confirmed that it will revolve around Stabler as he runs the organized crime division of the NYPD. But before beginning his tenure on Organized Crime, SVU showrunner Warren Leight recently revealed that Meloni will guest star as Stabler in SVU‘s season 22 premiere. Initially, Leight had planned to write Stabler and his family into the season 21 finale, but the coronavirus pandemic caused production to halt four episodes short of the finale.
Fans (and SVU star Ice T) are praising Wolf’s swift decision to condemn and fire Gore. As for Gore, he has not yet publicly responded to his termination. Now, fans just hope that Wolf will work quickly to find a suitable replacement so that they can put this all behind them and welcome Stabler back into the Law & Order family with open arms.
