Tit for tat. Mariska Hargitay knows all about Taylor Swift’s cat, Olivia Benson, who is named after Hargitay’s iconic Law & Order: SVU character. So, when she got a cat of her own, there was only one choice when it came to a name: Karma. 

Mariska Hargitay named her cat Karma in honor of Taylor Swift 

Hargitay was a guest on the June 25 episode of Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast. Much of the conversation revolved around her feature film directorial debut, the documentary My Mom Jayne, as well as her work advocating for survivors of sexual violence. But she also weighed in on some more light-hearted topics, including an important addition to her family. 

“Taylor Swift named her cat after Olivia Benson,” Cooper pointed out, as they were discussing the crusading detective Hargitay has played since 1999. 

“I will say as epic as that is, I did name my cat Karma,” Hargitay replied. “OK, so payback’s a b*tch. So I leveled the playing field there and my cat’s name is Karma because Karma’s a cat and she and Karma vibe like that.”

The actor said she and her husband, Peter Hermann, adopted Karma “right after” Swift’s song was released in 2022. 

“It was the only thing. It seemed fair,” she said. 

Hargitay added that she had no intention of getting a cat when Karma came into her life. 

“I didn’t want a cat. I wasn’t planning on getting a cat,” she said. But she was walking to Starbucks with her kids one day, and they passed a pet store. One thing led to another, and they ended up taking a cat home with them. 

Taylor Swift is a ‘boss lady,’ Hargitay says 

Hargitay said she was “embarrassed” to confess she bought her cat at a pet store.

“I don’t like buying animals from pet stores … my dog’s a rescue and I’m all about rescue,” Hargitay shared. “However, and parents understand this, there are moments as a parent and your kids lose their sh*t. They lost their sh*t.” 

Ultimately, Hermann picked Karma out of all the cats in the store. 

“And then my husband, who’s the kind of guy that goes ‘We’re not buying a cat. We’re not guys. No, we’re not buying a cat,’” she explained. “And I said, ‘Peter, just get here for one second’ … and then Peter gets in with the cat … He picks the cat. And then the kids are like, ‘We want this one.’ And Peter’s like ‘No we’re getting this one.’ And it was so hilarious. And then Peter picked the cat. So I guess Peter and Karma vibe like that.” 

During her conversation with Cooper, the SVU star also opened up about how excited she was to appear in the video for Swift’s 2014 hit “Bad Blood.” 

“I got to go [to the video music awards] with the squad,” Hargitay recalled. “That was the most fun, being in the squad with all the cool girls and supermodels and all of it. It was like the most fun ever.” 

“It was just so great, and she was just warm and smart and kind and such a boss lady … I learned so much from her,” she added. “That’s what I love about her is she’s so young, but she shows us in such beautiful ways how to be fearless and a boss lady.”

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