Chris Meloni Gave Mariska Hargitay a Piggyback Ride After the Emmys—See the Sweet Pic

Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay went on a best-friend date to the 2022 Emmys on Monday, September 12, and they ended the night in a way only good pals can: a piggyback ride. 

Meloni shared the sweet photo to his Twitter. "How it started/How it ended #Eleganceissurprisinglylight #partnerscarryingpartners #highheelcasualty," Meloni captioned two photos on his account. The first is of himself and Hargitay at the beginning of the Emmys, all glammed up in their respective looks. The second is from the end of the night, where Hargitay's heels proved to be too painful, so she took them off and hopped on Meloni's back. Hey, when your best friend has been wearing uncomfortable shoes all night, this is what you do! 

This is only more proof of something that didn't need proving: Meloni and Hargitay have the purest, most beautiful friendship. It was something on display during Glamour's 2021 Women of the Year Awards, when Meloni presented Hargitay with an honor. 

“I have been trusted with one task tonight: introduce someone who needs no introduction, who I’ve been working with for 13 years, and been friends with for 22,” Meloni said in his speech. “She’s got great energy, great personality. So tonight, I say this: Radiant. Charming. Funny. Generous. Elegant. Bawdy. Honest. Appreciative. Inclusive. Direct. Vivacious. That’s my favorite word; it comes from the Latin, to live. Which is what she does with great passion, every day, with everyone that she engages, be they friends, family, strangers, or commitments.”

He continued, “She’s fearless, without the bravado of the warrior stance, but always with the open arms, the open heart. She’s a connector of people because she knows we’re all better when we’re working together. She is as comfortable in the sacred as she is in the profane; she is a soul in the constant search of the beauty and the truth that she knows that this world holds, but she also knows requires vigilance, persistence, and insistence to pry magic from the oftentimes mundane reality. Her first instance is to always react with compassion and empathy. She sees hope in the hopeless; she sees the potential in the you, and me, and us.”

Meloni reprised his role as Detective Stabler on Law & Order: Organized Crime, while Hargitay continues to hold down the fort as Captain Benson on Law & Order: SVU. Both shows return for new seasons Thursday, September 22 on NBC at 10/9c and 9/8c, respectively, in what will be a three-hour Law & Order Premiere Event. The two shows team up with Law & Order to work one case in an epic special. It kicks off at 8/7c with Law & Order on NBC, and the event will stream next day on Peacock.