During a May 2025 Buzzfeed video interview that saw him answer fan questions while being viciously attacked by some of the cutest puppies ever — hence the video’s Christopher Meloni: The Puppy Interview title — Meloni answered one question that seamlessly turned into the best moment.

When tasked with answering the question of, “The SVU opening is so memorable — can you recite it right now? Do you have it memorized?” Meloni immediately launched into his version of the iconic opening:

“In the criminal justice system, there are two kinds of criminals,” he began, instantly unsure of himself. “One’s that’s… dedicated detectives. These are their stories.”

His answer was not even close — and even Meloni knew it.

Although he currently stars on Law & Order: Organized Crime as Elliot Stabler, Meloni should know the words to the famous SVU intro like the back of his hand. After all, the character originated on SVU (with Meloni in that same role), and has been a pillar of that show since the series’ inception in 1999.

“I think I got half — I think I got 40% on that,” Meloni admitted of his ability to recite the SVU intro. “I think I get an ‘F.'”

What’s said in the Law & Order: SVU intro?

The actual spoken-word introduction that occurs at the beginning of each Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode is as follows:

In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

To be fair, how could Meloni even concentrate when there were so many little puppies to play with? It was an impossible task.

Mariska Hargitay teases Christopher Meloni about his lack of Emmy Awards

In a hilarious selfie video shared to Instagram on September 15, Meloni caught SVU star Mariska Hargitay in a candid backstage moment at the 2025 Emmy Awards, revealing the sweetness of their real-life friendship. Meloni had his smartphone camera rolling as Hargitay noticed a table full of Emmys and decided to tease him about never winning one.

“You’ll never have those,” Hargitay told him. “Anyway, listen-”

And that’s when she realized Meloni was filming her every word.

“See what I go through?” he said as Hargitay cracked up in the background. “You see what I deal with?”

Meloni panned his camera over to record Hargitay, who was mortified that she was caught in the act.

“Oh my God. Oh s–t,” she said.

“And she curses!” Meloni announced with a big smile.