Law and Order SVU: Why did Kelli Giddish leave as Amanda Rollins after 12 years?？

WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Law and Order SVU. 

Law and Order SVU’s Detective Amanda Rollins has been a veteran member of the squad

for more than a decade with actress Kelli Giddish making her exit at the end of 2022.

Her final episode was season 24’s And A Trauma in a Pear Tree, which started with a happy occasion as Rollins married Dominick Carisi (played by Peter Scanavino) at last.

After the wedding, Rollins goes to see Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) with the friends getting drunk in a motel room.

It is after too many glasses of boxed wine that Rollins tells her that she intends on leaving the SVU to take on a teaching job at Fordham.

While Benson is clearly heartbroken, she is supportive of her friend and the team applauds Rollins as she leaves the building for the last time.

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At the time of her exit, sources confirmed to Variety that it was the show’s creators at NBC who decided that it was time for Giddish to go.

According to the publication, “salary negotiations and her future on the show were part of the conversation and, ultimately, a compromise couldn’t be made”.

The actress went on to explain that she felt it was the right “time” to go for her character as well.

She said: “I felt like where it was heading, and where it headed last night, just seemed the right place to leave it right now.

“I am so excited about things going on in my personal life and kind of the mirroring of what’s going on in my personal life and in Rollins’, there’s a lot of joy to be experienced.”

In an official statement regarding her exit, Giddish explained: “Playing Rollins has been one of the greatest joys and privileges of my life.

“I’ve been so fortunate to be a part of the ‘Law & Order’ family for the last 12 years.

“There is simply no other character on TV like Rollins. She’s grown and changed, and I have as well.

“I started on this show when I was in my late 20s and I’m grateful I got to spend so many of my adult years with Rollins in my life.”

There is clearly no bad blood between the actress and the show though with showrunner David Graziano praising the star for her “classy” departure.

Taking to Instagram, he wrote: “You might take a moment to entertain the idea that things are more complex than they appear in a world of emojis and tweets.

“All I’ll say is Kelli has handled this with the most incredibly classy comportment.

“She is, without a doubt, one of the finest industry professionals I’ve come across in my 24 years of writing television. I’m saddened by her looming exit.

“It’ll be my lucky day if I ever get to write for her again.”