Many fans are wondering why Ice-T and his character Sergeant Fin Tutuola didn’t appear in many Law & Order SVU episodes in Season 27. So far, at the time of writing, the character has only been seen in four of the eight episodes. This is surprising since Ice-T has been on the long-running series since the second season and has been a full cast member much of the time. Those following the latest season will know the narrative reason why Fin isn’t around as much, but Ice-T has explained what happened behind the scenes.

Ice-T reveals why Fin Tutuola was missing in many Law & Order SVU episodes in 2025

Ice-T shared the reason for Fin Tutuola not showing up for much of Law & Order SVU Season 27 in a sit-down interview with TMZ.

“It’s just basically business,” he explained. “They brought Kelli back. At the end of the day, they couldn’t keep both of us on both times, as far as budget-wise.”

The actor referred to Detective Amanda Rollins, as played by actress Kelli Giddish, who has reemerged on the show this season after being written off in Season 24. Mariska Hargitay, who plays Captain Olivia Benson, pushed for Giddish to return as a full-time cast member. Ice-T understood that this would mean less screen time for Fin.

“They said, ‘Ice, we’ll have you come in and other this year.’ Everybody wanted Kelli back. We have new cops.”

That said, the actor was “concerned” about the next season and whether the creators of the show were going to keep him around. “I said, ‘Are you getting rid of me?’ They said, ‘No way. We can’t imagine Law and Order without you,’” he recounted.

While Ice-T has spent some of his newly granted free time working on music, he’s grateful that he has been able to be on the show for 27 years. “I am not going to say anything negative about this show. They have taken care of me for so long. I’m trying to get to Season 28.”