Salma Hayek's Owl Once Coughed Up a Hairball On Harry Styles' Head

Salma Hayek's pet owl, Kering, once had an unfortunate encounter with Harry Styles, Hayek recalled during a recent appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

salma hayek harry styles
(Image credit: Rich Fury/VF20)
  • Salma Hayek revealed that Harry Styles had an unfortunate encounter with her pet owl, Kering.
  • Kering landed on Styles' head—then immediately coughed up a hairball.
  • "[Styles] was super cool, by the way. He was super cool, even with that happening, Hayek said.

Here is a story I never anticipated I'd write, but am extremely happy to be doing so: Salma Hayek's pet owl, Kering, once had an unfortunate encounter with one Harry Styles, involving the relocation of a ball of hair from the owl's stomach to the top of Styles' head. Hayek told the story on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and I am certain I will still be thinking about it when I draw my final breath!

"There's this ball of hair that comes out of their mouth," Hayek recalled. "One time there was a very important celebrity, I will not say his name, and he was really excited about the owl, and was hoping that the owl would go on his head because it was on me. He was like, 'I need an owl in my life. How do you do that?'"

"The minute he least expected it, he came on his head but then he did the thing and this thing came out, this ball of rat hair was on his head," she said. Later identifying the celebrity in question as Styles, Hayek added, "He was super cool, by the way. He was super cool, even with that happening."

Hayek has 100 percent convinced me that what my life is truly lacking is owls, telling DeGeneres that Kering, adorably, keeps her company of an evening. "She only sleeps with me when my husband is not in town. He won't have it. He puts up with a lot, but of course, he's not going to sleep with an owl in the room. So when he's out of town she sleeps with me," she said. "What happens is that I eventually go to sleep and she just keeps flying around the room."

"She comes and snuggles before. Sometimes in the middle of the night she just lands on my head. It's a little bit jarring, but I'm kind of used to it," Hayek continued. "The worst is when your feet come out of the sheets and she thinks that your toes are mice and she just flies in and grabs them. That can be really terrifying."

Emily Dixon
Morning Editor

Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.