Taylor Swift Superfan Mariska Hargitay Gave Her New Cat an Eras-Inspired Name

If you’re a Swiftie, you probably know by now that Taylor Swift’s most famous cat (seriously, she has her own Wikipedia page) is iconically named Olivia Benson, after the fictional protagonist of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Now, Mariska Hargitay, who has been portraying Benson since 1999, has returned the compliment in the best possible way.

The actress named her new cat Karma, after a lyric from Taylor Swift’s Midnights: “Sweet like honey, karma is a cat purring in my lap ‘cause it loves me.”

Hargitay broke the fun news on Instagram: “Karma is a Cat @taylorswift Meet Karma. My Cat,” she wrote. Adding a few more nods to T-Swift lyrics via hashtags: “#MeAndKarmaVibeLikeThat #AndIKeepMySideOfMyPawClean #KarmaIsACat.”

Hargitay has been an avid Swiftie for years. The pair first met at the Met Gala, Hargitay said on . They ran into each other again by chance at an Ingrid Michaelson concert — Hargitay and her husband were left without a ride after the show, so Swift drove them home. 

Hargitay later made an appearance in Swift’s star-studded Bad Blood, where she was given the code name “Justice,” a nod to her decades-long reign as TV’s favorite crime fighter. “I feel like my ‘cool factor’ went up with the kids, and I’m really grateful, Taylor,” she told Meyers. 

In 2015, Hargitay met her four-pawed namesake backstage at a Taylor Swift concert. Swift posted an Instagram video of their interaction, narrating “This is Olivia Benson meeting Olivia Benson, and things are going well so far.” 

Back in May, Hargitay attended the Eras Tour concert at MetLife Stadium and posted a photo of her “Bad Blood”-inspired outfit on Instagram with the caption “#justice” — she reunited with fellow “Bad Blood” star, Cara Delevingne, at the event. Last month, Hargitay and her daughter attended the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour film premiere in Los Angeles. 

Naturally, fans are freaking out about the latest — and arguably most adorable — development in the Swift/Hargitay friendship. “Olivia Benson meeting Karma WHeN??” asked one Instagram user. “This is like inception, but with cats,” commented another. And finally, one commenter pretty much summed up our thoughts exactly: “Two queens with cats named after each other.”