# Mariska Hargitay hosts the Emmys her way

> The SVU star opened the 2026 Emmys with a Dick Wolf joke, a Nicole Kidman heckle, and a Knicks cameo.
- Title: Mariska Hargitay hosts the Emmys her way · Vanity Fair
- Summary: The SVU star opened the 2026 Emmys with a Dick Wolf joke, a Nicole Kidman heckle, and a Knicks cameo. Hargitay turned a first-time hosting gig into a victory…
- Keywords: emmys, television, mariska hargitay, awards, law and order, Mariska, Hargitay, hosts, way, Vanity Fair
- Source: Vanity Fair — https://vanityfair.com/story/mariska-hargitay-monologue-emmys-2026-09-14
- Author: Savannah Walsh
- Published: 2026-09-15T00:22:30.863+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: emmys, television, mariska hargitay, awards, law and order
## First-time host, TV lifer
Mariska Hargitay opened the 2026 Emmys leaning on her near three-decade run on Law & Order: SVU, timed to NBC's centennial.

> NBC is celebrating its 100th year. And I have been on Law & Order: SVU for all of them.
## A joke at Dick Wolf
She went straight at the Law & Order creator's name, noting the jokes it has collected over the years before offering her own alternative.

> His real name is Richard Penis.
## Nicole Kidman heckles back
Hargitay riffed on Kidman's AMC Theatres ad. Kidman shouted from her seat that the bit was hers, and Hargitay shut it down from the stage.

> Zip it, movie lady. It's TV's turn tonight.
## Brunson and friends show up
The monologue stretched into a long musical number with cameos from Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, Jennifer Coolidge, and Jeff Hiller.
## Fifteen years, no woman
She called out the TV Academy for making her the first female Emmys host since Jane Lynch in 2011, blaming two very busy comedians.

> For 15 straight years, Amy and Tina said no.
## Already a winner that week
Hargitay arrived with two awards for My Mom Jayne, her HBO documentary about her mother Jayne Mansfield, and quoted Gloria Steinem, who died September 2 at 92.

> Please tell your own story. The most important thing we can do for each other is to know each other through stories.
## Key takeaway

Hargitay turned a first-time hosting gig into a victory lap: 30 years of SVU, two awards for her Jayne Mansfield documentary, and a pointed reminder that the Emmys hadn't booked a woman in 15 years.