Mariska Hargitay on Taylor Swift and 'Shake it Off' in advance of SVU premiere

At a press roundtable on Wednesday for the upcoming 17th season of Law & Order: SVU, Mariska Hargitay took some time to talk about her newest accolade: a spot in Taylor Swift’s ever-growing group of famous female friends.

“I think she is so lovely and so mature and has really inspired me,” Hargitay told reporters of Swift.

As we already know, Hargitay was a part of Swift’s group at the VMAs, but the SVU sergeant was hesitant at first. Initially, she brushed off the invite.

“She’s like, ‘Come to the VMAs,'” Hargitay says. “And I’m like, ‘I’m not going to the VMAs. I’m too old to go to the VMAs.'” Eventually, though, Hargitay accepted. She got ready with the whole group prior to going on stage with Swift to accept the Video of the Year award for “Bad Blood.”

It’s a different jam that gets Hargitay through her bad days, though.

“‘Shake it Off’ really touched me deeply, profoundly,” she says, noting that sometimes she asks herself why she allows certain things to hurt her feelings. “Then you go, ‘You know what? Shake it off. Move on.’ What a beautiful lesson. I said to her, ‘I’m so grateful for the reminder.'”

And can fans expect any squad appearances on SVU in upcoming episodes?

“I think so,” Hargitay says. “We can only hope.”

Law & Order: SVU’s two-hour premiere kicks off Sept. 23 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

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