Taylor Swift Comments on Mariska Hargitay Naming Her New Cat After a Swift Song
On Thursday, November 30, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay introduced her new cat Karma to her followers on Instagram and made it very clear that, yes, it is a reference to Taylor Swift’s track of the same name.
She shared two photos of the adorable blue-eyed Siamese kitten in a red collar, rewriting lyrics from “Karma” in the caption to be more pet focused: “Karma is a Cat @taylorswift Meet Karma. My Cat. #MeAndKarmaVibeLikeThat #AndIKeepMySideOfMyPawClean #KarmaIsACat.”
The actual lyrics from the Midnights track “Karma” go: “Sweet like honey, karma is a cat purring in my lap ’cause it loves me.”
It took a couple days for Swift to notice and respond, but she seemed absolutely thrilled when it happened. On Saturday, December 2, Swift commented on the post, saying, “Are you serious?!!!! Nothing has ever come more full circle. LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!”
In 2014, Swift named one of her cats Olivia Benson, the name of Hargitay’s most famous role on SVU. This seems to have sparked a real friendship, and in 2015 Hargitay made an appearance in the music video for Swift’s “Bad Blood” with Ellen Pompeo. The Eras Tour star named her other cat Meredith Grey, after Pompeo’s role on Grey’s Anatomy.
Hargitay joined Swift on stage during her 1989 World Tour and attended several of her Eras Tour concerts. She was also in attendance for the premiere of the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour film in October with her daughter Amaya Hermann.
While at the premiere, Hargitay told Entertainment Tonight, “She’s pure magic. There’s nothing she can’t do. It’s been so beautiful to reconnect to that innocence, you know? I think Taylor gives such a beautiful message to kids and unlocks these girls’ emotions.”
She added, “I see how it affects my daughter, and she cries and just opens up like a flower. And [I see] how meaningful it is, and I’m grateful to be part of it and watch that journey. It’s been so beautiful [to see] how she gracefully walked through her journey and allowed herself to evolve and truly step into her power pose, her talent and all of her glory. And she’s got quite a bit of it … I think she is a magicmaker.”
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.