'Brought Me Right Back!': Mariska Hargitay Poses with a Boa as She Recalls Pet Snake She Had as a Kid

The 'Law & Order: SVU' star reminisced about her past in an Instagram post on Tuesday

Mariska Hargitay is in her reputation era!

On Tuesday, the Law & Order: SVU star channelled her pal Taylor Swift on Instagram, sharing two photos of herself posing with a Boa constrictor — pics she joked in a hashtag were representative of "Reputation (My Version)," a play on Swift's sixth studio album.

Though her time with the reptile gave Hargitay a chance to show off her inner Swiftie, it appeared to be more about reliving a part of her past.

“So… fun fact — when I was a kid, we had a boa constrictor as a pet," Hargitay, 60, captioned the photos, snapped as the actress closed her eyes while the snake slithered along the side of her face. "I know I know… I got to hold this gorgeous creature yesterday. It brought me right back!"

She added a sea of other hashtags, including "#SnakeKisses #Snake #SnakeLife #Trust #SnakeCharmer" and "#AlbinoSnake" — the latter appearing to be an indication of the snake she had when she was a kid.

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Commenters quickly shared their fears, one writing, “OMG I’d be terrified, but somehow you make it look like a cute fluffy kitten.”

But Hargitay later edited her post, giving them some peace. "By the way, I’m reading all these comments of everybody that is so scared of snakes and I guarantee that if you were with me I would hold your hand an -

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d you would be able to do it too,” she wrote.

That seemed to spark other emotions in Hargitay's fans. “Guys if Olivia Benson held my hand while holding a snake I'd cry,” said one of her followers.

Hargitay nearly cried herself when she faced her fears by holding a tarantula.

She shared that story on Instagram Tuesday, too. “So this happened… let me just say I was terrified but I decided to #FeelTheFearAndDoItAnyway," Hargitay explained. "I have been scared of spiders and tarantulas my entire life."

Turns out, Hargitay overcame those fears easily. "Never in 1 million years did I think I would be able to hold one AND I sat there and realized that I could overcome this perceived obstacle — that it was just pure fear, and there wasn’t any real danger there," she said.

In the photo, Hargitay sat in a chair as she held the large tarantula in her palms. Wearing her glasses, she looked relaxed and focused as she kept her glaze on the spider. 

“It took me a minute for my rational mind to wrestle down my fear and I gave myself the room, and I waited until I was ready.. and then I was,” Hargitay continued in her caption. “Fear is something to be reckoned with. Fear is such an incredible teacher. It was a very beautiful experience to overcome it, and be healed by nature and allow this little miraculous creature to feel safe in my hands as well.”

She added, “Feeling their little nails was just the sweetest thing. I NEVER thought I would say that. Feels like such a monumental moment of growth. P.S it fell asleep in my hand. #WeCanDoHardThings.”

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