An Australian newspaper has started internet frenzy. Rumors of Law and Order: SVU star Christopher Meloni leaving the show has the webs buzzing and some questioning just where these rumors were started.

Meloni, who has played officer has portrayed detective Elliott Stabler since the show’s inception. The offshoot of the original franchise, Law & Order is in its 11th season, and Meloni, actress Mariska Hargitay, and actors Dan Florek and Richard Belzer make up the only members of the cast who have been with the show the entire run.

After most in the entertainment industry seemed to think that Meloni’s leaving was a done deal, it now appears that may have been a false report. The Courier Mail, which originally broke the story, has now scrubbed that report from its website. In addition an executive with the SVU says there is no truth to the rumors that Meloni is on the way out, and when the star himself was asked if he was planning on leaving the television show that made him a household name, he answered with a very simple and direct “no.”

Rumors about stars leaving long running shows is nothing new, but they rarely take on the kind of buzz Meloni’s rumors apparently did.