Taylor Swift and Zoë Kravitz have one of those friendships that can survive just about anything — even a rogue python. The story that’s now circulating online sounds like something out of a surreal Hollywood comedy: a Burmese python named Orpheus, a custom vintage cupboard, and one very confused pop superstar.
During her October 8 appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Taylor Swift told the hilarious story of how she found out that Zoë Kravitz and her mother, Lisa Bonet, had accidentally gotten their pet snake stuck in the wall of her Los Angeles home earlier this year.
“I just want to preface this with, we’ve all got that one friend,” Swift laughed. “I just remember getting a call from my head of security and him trying to explain this story to me. And my first question was, ‘What snake?’ I was unaware of the presence of the snake.”
Meyers couldn’t resist teasing her: “If someone told you, ‘Oh the snake is loose,’ and you didn’t even know there was a snake…”
Swift doubled down, emphasizing with mock disbelief, “Did not know there was a snake.”
The chaotic incident took place back in January, when Kravitz and Bonet were staying at Swift’s home during the Los Angeles wildfires. According to Zoë, the pair were looking after Lisa’s beloved Burmese python, Orpheus, when the reptile slipped into the wall — setting off what Swift later described as “an incredibly stylish crisis.”
The Midnights singer continued, “I kind of found myself listening to this and I’m like, ‘Uh-huh, okay.’”
It wasn’t just the missing snake that caught her off guard — it was the aftermath. Zoë and Lisa had reportedly destroyed a “custom vintage cupboard” and covered the bathroom floor with splinters while trying to retrieve Orpheus. But rather than fuming over the chaos, Swift saw the funny side.
“This is an Annie Leibovitz shoot,” she joked. “This is the chicest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Zoë is wearing head-to-toe The Row. I’m like, ‘This is a YSL ad, not a problem.’ It sounds incredible. I’m sad I didn’t see it.”
The two stars, who have been close friends since 2016, clearly know each other well — well enough for Swift to predict exactly how Kravitz would handle the situation.
“I know her well enough to know, ‘She’s not gonna tell me about this until it’s fixed,’” Swift said with a grin. “I just kept a little countdown on my phone, like just counting the days. I think it was like three weeks — exactly the amount of time it took to fix the damaged cupboard.”
When Kravitz finally came clean, Swift couldn’t resist teasing her. “She’s like, ‘I told them not to tell you!’” Taylor recalled. “And I said, ‘Dude, I’ve been laughing about this for three weeks.’”
The story, which fans have affectionately dubbed Snakegate, quickly went viral — not least because of Swift’s history with snake imagery. After all, back in 2017, she famously reclaimed the snake symbol as part of her Reputation era, turning online criticism into one of her most powerful artistic statements. So when news broke that a literal snake had caused havoc in her home, the internet couldn’t help but see poetic irony.
Still, there’s no bad blood between the friends. Zoë joked about the incident herself in August, telling E! News that she hasn’t been back to Taylor’s Los Angeles home since the python drama — but clarified, “Not 'cause I wasn't invited. It’s just because I haven’t been in L.A.”
The pair’s friendship has been one of the most quietly consistent in Hollywood. Zoë even co-wrote lyrics for Swift’s 2020 Midnights album, and Swift has repeatedly shown up to support Kravitz’s acting career, including her breakout performance in The Batman and her directorial debut, Blink Twice.
It’s also not the first time Swift has opened her doors — literally — to friends in need. Over the years, her homes have hosted everyone from Lana Del Rey and Jack Antonoff to Sabrina Carpenter, who’s currently opening for Swift on The Eras Tour. But this particular houseguest story might be the wildest yet.
“Only Zoë Kravitz could turn losing a python into a fashion moment,” one fan wrote online. “If it were anyone else, that would be a horror story — but with them, it’s just art.”
And for Taylor, the moment fits perfectly into the mythology of her life — part high drama, part humor, and entirely self-aware. “Snakes and stones,” as she once sang, “never broke her bones.”
