When the Los Angeles wildfires swept through California earlier this year, Taylor Swift did what any generous friend would — she opened her home to Zoë Kravitz and her mother, Lisa Bonet.
But what started as a kind act of hospitality quickly spiraled into an unexpected two-week ordeal involving a pet snake, frantic bathroom demolition, and one of the more bizarre celebrity houseguest stories in recent memory.
From Safe Haven to Slithering Chaos
Kravitz revealed on Late Night with Seth Meyers that Swift’s gorgeous 1930s home became their evacuation refuge when flames threatened their Topanga Canyon neighborhood. Along with her luggage, Bonet brought Orpheus — her pet snake.
“I wanted to be the perfect houseguest,” Kravitz said. “Taylor’s home is so beautiful, I didn’t want her to even know we’d been there.”
Everything was fine until the final day of Kravitz’s stay. While packing downstairs, she received a phone call from her mom upstairs with an oddly tense tone: “I’m in a little bit of a pickle. Can you come upstairs?”
When Kravitz arrived, she found Bonet crouched in a corner of Swift’s bathroom. Bonet explained that she’d put Orpheus down for just a moment while washing her face — and the snake had immediately disappeared into a small hole near a built-in banquette. Bonet still had hold of the snake’s tail, but the reptile was steadily pulling itself deeper out of reach.
Kravitz compared the scene to Jurassic Park, saying each inch the snake moved felt like branches breaking before disaster. “If I’d had both hands free,” Bonet joked later, “I would have slapped you to get it together.”
Desperate Rescue and Bathroom Destruction
As the snake wriggled deeper, Kravitz removed drawers from the banquette, only to discover the hole didn’t lead there. She called her assistant for help, but they were equally stumped. Finally, Swift’s house manager arrived, assessed the situation, and grabbed a crowbar.
“We’re ripping up the tile, we’re scratching the walls, we destroyed her bathroom,” Kravitz admitted. “It was either destroy her bathroom or have to tell her there’s a snake loose in the house.”
The chaotic rescue worked — Orpheus was retrieved unharmed. But Swift’s pristine bathroom now looked like a renovation project. Kravitz immediately offered to pay for repairs and begged the house manager not to tell Swift until everything was fixed.
Taylor Already Knew — And Didn’t Lose Her Cool
That plan didn’t last long. When Kravitz finally called Swift to “talk about something,” Swift immediately responded: “Is it the fact that you almost lost a snake in my house and destroyed my bathroom?”
Despite the chaos, Swift was unfazed. The two women’s friendship has endured, strengthened since they first became close during the pandemic in London. Kravitz even attended Swift’s Eras Tour in London in 2024 with then-fiancé Channing Tatum.
The only lingering mystery? Whether Swift will ever risk hosting Kravitz and Bonet — and Orpheus — again.