Teva Barnea, the grieving son of the former owners of a Hollywood Hills mansion, has accused celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D of causing the fire that destroyed his family’s home — and of adding severe stress that he says contributed to his mother’s death from cancer.
Barnea, 30, made the allegations in a TikTok video posted last week, claiming Von D, whose full name is Katherine von Drachenberg, led what he described as a “bizarre lifestyle” while renting the family’s distinctive turreted residence.
The home, known as The Hollywood Castle, was destroyed in a 2010 fire. The blaze also killed Von D’s pet cat, Valentine, and wiped out her personal possessions inside the property.
In the video, Barnea — who calls himself an “occasional thespian” and appeared in the 2021 sci-fi short 99 Problems — directly blamed the 44-year-old reality TV star and tattooist for the disaster.
“I saw the way that she lived, and it was bizarre,” Barnea said in the TikTok clip.
“There were candles everywhere,” he added. “Candles of all sizes — big, small, wide — in every corner, on every mantle, down the steps, along the walls. They were really everywhere.”
‘Shocker – the house burned,’ he added.
The blaze then sparked a lawsuit, with Barnea’s family – borne out by insurance investigations – claiming the fire was caused by multiple unattended candles left burning.
Kat Von D – whose real name is Katherine von Drachenberg – has been accused of setting a Hollywood home ablaze with her candles back in 2010
The property, nicknamed The Hollywood Castle, has been rebuilt after it burned down in 2010 – destroying all of Kat Von D’s personal belongings and killing her cat
Teva Barnea, 30, alleged the stress of the fire caused his mom Debra Dresbach’s cancer to return before she died of the disease in January 2025
LA Ink star Von D, meanwhile, pinned the blame on faulty wiring and has consistently maintained she was away on a book tour when the fire broke out.
Barnea claimed ‘the stress of the fires and the restoration process and the lawsuit’ caused his mother Debra Dresbach’s cancer to return before she died of the disease in January 2025 at the age of 70.
He also accused Von D of sending his mother ‘spiteful, hateful emails’ and said the tattooist is ‘a liar, a narcissist, truly a mean person’.
In response, Von D – who now lives in a another gothic mansion in Vevey, Indiana, with her Mexican tattoo artist husband Rafael Reyes and their son – posted a social media video of her own, denying the claims.
‘This week, I’ve been accused of burning down a house and contributing to the death of a woman with cancer,’ she said.
Von D shared photos of the fire (above) after it ravaged the home she had been renting in Hollywood in 2010
The celebrity tattoo artist pinned the blame on faulty wiring and has consistently maintained she was away on a book tour when the fire broke out
‘Teva is accusing me of burning down his mother’s house because I was lighting candles, which is not true.
‘I wasn’t even in the home when the fire happened. I was on a book tour.’
Barnea then hit back with a second TikTok video in which he waved what he said were official documents, including an original fire report.
‘No ignition sources other than candles were identified within the fire’s area of origin,’ he said.
Barnea’s property, the Hollywood Castle, has since been restored following the fire. The 30-year-old now lives in it himself after inheriting the home following his mother’s death
The sprawling mansion in Hollywood was originally built to resemble a British castle
The massive mansionis still rented out for filming and featured in late director Rob Reiner’s 1984 classic This Is Spinal Tap
It also appeared in the music video for Tom Petty’s Into the Great Wide Open, which starred Johnny Depp
Von D and Barnea have both been contacted for comment by the Daily Mail.
Barnea’s property, the Hollywood Castle, has since been restored with the 30-year-old now living in it himself after inheriting it on his mother’s death.
The massive mansion, which was built to resemble a British castle, is still rented out for filming and featured in late director Rob Reiner’s 1984 classic This Is Spinal Tap.
It also appeared in the music video for Tom Petty’s Into the Great Wide Open, which starred Johnny Depp.
