Dear Joyful Heart Community,

It recently came to light that Mike Tyson was cast in a guest-starring role on an upcoming episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. We understand this has caused a great deal of concern to some fans of the show, many of whom are also supporters of the Joyful Heart Foundation. I wanted to take a moment, on behalf of everyone at Joyful Heart, to respond to that feedback.

First and foremost, I want to say, “We hear you.” We acknowledge and recognize that this casting decision may be confusing, triggering and perhaps even painful for some people–especially those who are survivors of violence and abuse.

For more than a decade, SVU has been instrumental in shining a much-needed light on the issues of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse. In fact, Joyful Heart would not exist if not for the show and the path it created for our founder and president to awaken to the realities of sexual violence and forge a deep connection to survivors.

In recent years, the Foundation has been fortunate to partner with SVU to raise awareness around key issues including the backlog of untested rape kits, the affects of sexual abuse on young men and boys, and other topics that are all too often shrouded in darkness. Our partnership is based on our intention to shine a light on these issues to help increase awareness and understanding, lessen shame and stigma for survivors and, ultimately, change our collective response to violence and abuse.

And while we are proud of our work with the show, it is not a part of any formal relationship. While we have been blessed to work collaboratively on many occasions, final production decisions are outside of the role of Joyful Heart’s relationship to the show. We were not aware of this casting choice and we have formally expressed our concerns to the executives and producers at SVU.

At Joyful Heart, we strive to keep survivors at the center of all we do, and have abiding compassion for those who have suffered as a result of violence and abuse. We are deeply sorry if this choice on the part of SVU has, in any way, caused any hurt.

With deep gratitude for your continued support,

Maile Zambuto
Chief Executive Officer
Joyful Heart Foundation