It’s no secret that Taylor Swift loves cats and their “weirdness” as well as strong female leads in popular procedurals. She specifically adores Olivia Benson from Law and Order: SVU, and she made that abundantly clear when she named her second cat after Mariska Hargitay’s character. Now, the actress has brought this situation full circle by naming her new feline friend after the pop star, and here’s the story behind why all this happened.
Taylor Swift Named Her Cat After Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson
Olivia Benson is Taylor Swift’s second cat, and like her first, Meredith Grey, who she got in 2011, she’s named the kitty after the main character of a long-running procedural that she loves, per People. So, in 2014 when she got her second of three felines, she took inspiration from Mariska Hargitay's character in Law and Order.
Swift’s love for both Law and Order SVU and Grey’s Anatomy inspired the names of her first two cats. Then, that adoration manifested itself in multiple moments with both Ellen Pompeo, and, more importantly in this story’s case, Mariska Hargitay.
Mariska Hargitay Starred In “Bad Blood” And Attended The Eras Tour
The same year Taylor Swift got Olivia, she also released the music video for “Bad Blood.” It features many of the singer’s A-list pals, including Selena Gomez and Gigi Hadid, as well as her cat’s namesakes Mariska Hargitay and Ellen Pompeo.
Since then, both Swift and Hargitay have shown their support for each other, and it’s been amped up recently because of the Eras Tour.
During the first months of Taylor Swift’s mega tour, Hargitay attended a show in Nashville, and fans of both the singer, the actress and Olivia Benson the cat freaked out. I’m sure she had a blast singing along to surprise songs and dancing to “Bad Blood,” kind of like how she was jamming out to “Shake It Off” in the most wholesome way in this video from her Instagram:
After attending the Eras Tour, the love fest continued as Mariska Hargitay took her daughter to the premiere of Taylor Swift’s concert film.
There’s evident mutual respect between these two powerhouses, and if their consistent support of one another wasn’t enough, Mariska Hargitay proved it once again when she got a cat.
The Law And Order Star Named Her Cat After Taylor Swift
Taking things one step further in this cycle of adoration and respect, the Law and Order star decided to take a page out of Taylor Swift’s book and name her cat after “Karma,” one of the pop star’s hits off Midnights.
She really said “Karma is a cat,” and everyone, including Taylor Swift, was obsessed with it. Taking to the comments of the actress’s post, the “Cruel Summer” singer noted her excitement about this situation, writing:
Are you serious?!!!! Nothing has ever come more full circle ⭕️ LOVE THIS SO MUCH!! 😻
This truly was a “full circle” moment, and I think fans of both women were just as excited as Swift to see Hargitay’s adorable homage to the pop star.
Overall, this sweet friendship formed over cats is adorable, and we can’t wait to hopefully see more wholesome interactions between the two about Olivia Benson (the cat) and Karma. In the meantime, we’ll be sure to keep you posted on all of Swift’s upcoming projects, and be sure to check out the 2024 TV schedule to see when Mariska Hargitay is returning to the small screen as the beloved detective.
