When it comes to hype up your partner, Fox’s Charissa Thompson knows what she is doing. Taylor Swift’s new Patient Zero music video, which premiered during Sunday night’s MTV Video Music Awards, featured Taylor alongside many stars like Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell, but a few surprising appearances took everyone off guard.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
In the video, Cara Delevingne showed up in a party scene, getting cozy with Colin Farrell’s character while Taylor and Dakota watched. And that wasn’t all. NFL star Matthew Stafford also popped up in the video, along with former NHL player Jarret Stoll and marketing executive Steven Cundari.
Steve Cundari appears in black tie for the ballroom party scene of Taylor Swift’s “Patient Zero” music video. Though it was just a cameo, it meant a lot to Charissa Thompson, who is Cundari’s girlfriend, as she posted an IG story with a caption that reads, “Thank you @taylorswift for recognizing a star when you see one.”
Steven Cundari is not new to the creative world. He is the Co-Founder and Partner of Summit House, a venture studio that brings together specialized agencies and creative teams. His work in the industry gives him a strong background in marketing, branding, and creative projects, even though he is not known as a regular on-screen personality.
The video has a dark and mysterious feel, mixing elements of ghost stories, true crime, and psychological thrillers. Swift explained that the house in the video represents a relationship that has slowly lost its warmth and become cold over time.
Colin Farrell plays a troubled boyfriend, while Dakota Johnson plays his new girlfriend. As the story moves forward, Dakota’s character starts experiencing things that are very similar to what Swift’s character went through with Farrell. The two women even wear similar clothes, visit the same places, and have matching hairstyles, showing how history seems to be repeating itself.
Taylor Swift’s connection with the sports world goes beyond Travis Kelce, and her friendship with Charissa Thompson makes that connection even more interesting. In an exclusive interview with Parade on September 3, 2025, Erin Andrews revealed that Thompson, Swift, Kelce, Jarret Stoll, and Steven Cundari are all part of the same group chat.
Andrews explained how the group regularly talks and makes plans together.
“We have a really good group,” Andrews said. “We’ve talked about [our Montana vacation together], I think when Travis posted the photos of all of us. Yeah, our group, our six-top, is a good group. So yeah, we have a fun time.”
All of them also went to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding, with Thompson and Cundari having a small incident too.
Thompson, who owns Ruby Ranch, opened up about the fashion mishap on her Calm Down podcast with Erin Andrews. She wore a nude, crystal-covered gown with silver gemstones on the bodice and crystal straps. The dress looked stunning, but the tiny prongs holding the jewels in place soon became a problem.
As Thompson moved around and danced at the wedding, those small prongs started scraping her arms and left her bleeding. The dress was also very heavy, making the problem even worse.
The problem did not stop with Thompson. The same prongs also damaged Steven Cundari’s tuxedo whenever they caught on the fabric.
This moment makes it a full-circle moment for their friendship.