Sometimes fiction is just as strange as truth.
Failed Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin, whose controversial remarks about rape helped sink his candidacy in Missouri last year, will be a plot line in “Law & Order: SVU.”
The episode, which airs Wednesday, is aptly titled “Legitimate Rape.” The promo for the show starts with the words “ripped from the headlines, words that set off a national controversy” splayed across the screen. It shows a man in a suit and tie appearing in court declaring “It’s nearly impossible for a victim of legitimate rape to become pregnant.”
Akin, of course, created a firestorm after arguing that women’s bodies have the capability of avoiding pregnancy if the rape is “legitimate.”
Sen. Claire McCaskill, who beat Akin, responded to the “Law & Order” episode, tweeting “now this is surreal.”
Before “Law & Order” episodes air, the crime drama series insists the story it’s about to tell is fictional and does not depict any real person or event. But the show does seem to sometimes give a nod to real life events.
The show has done an episode, “Funny Valentine,” on domestic abuse, widely believed to be based off the relationship of singers Chris Brown and Rihanna. In “Excalibur” a governor (presumably based on former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer) is involved in an upscale prostitution ring. And in “Scorched Earth,” a maid claims a Prime Minister candidate (presumably Dominqiue Strauss Kahn) raped her in a hotel room.
Check on the NBC promo below: