‘It was negligence’: Celebrity stays at man’s family house. Then she causes a huge fire

One person's TikTok drama is another person's horror story. And that's especially true when cancer and house fires come into play.

One man is going viral for accusing a celebrity of being responsible for both, and the celebrity has responded.

‘Celebrities should be held truly accountable'

Property renter Teva Dresbach (@hollywoodhillscastle) posted a video of himself at his family's 1931 castle in the Hollywood Hills. The video has since accumulated more than 12.3 million views.

Dresbach began his story by saying he'd held it “close to [his] chest since [he] was a kid,” because his mother “had signed an NDA with a celebrity in order to avoid trial and get a settlement.” The catch? Dresbach, a child at the time, said he hadn't signed any such NDA. Since his mom has passed away, he finally felt free to speak.

“I want the story to be told, because I think that celebrities should be held truly accountable for their actions,” Dresbach said. “It was 2008. My mom had just lost most of her money and she needed to rent the home. A celebrity came along and wanted to rent the house out.”

What happened with the celebrity?

Dresbach said everything seemed fine, until one day when he and his parents visited the castle while the celebrity was staying there to do some work on it. Dresbach “saw the way [the celebrity] had lived,” calling it “bizarre.”

“There were candles everywhere,” he said. “Candles of all sizes, big, small, small, wide. Every single corner, every mantle, down the steps, along the walls, really everywhere. Along with taxidermy, like a wolf, just standing in a bedroom looking at you.”

Ultimately, Dresbach said it was the celebrity's personal candles that brought misfortune upon his family and the castle.

“Shocker: The [castle] burned,” he revealed. “There was a ginormous fire that took place. It was negligence, and the arson investigators declared that it was a candle fire.”

Dresbach went on to describe and show a picture of immense smoke damage throughout “the entire home,” saying the only reason the castle was left standing was because it's made of stone. He said that after the fire, this celebrity, whom he called a “liar,” a “narcissist,” and a “truly mean person,” sent his mother “hate mail” in the form of “spiteful emails” because “she was in denial.”

Who was the person staying at the home?

Dresbach alleged that the celebrity in question is Kat Von D, a tattoo artist who rose to fame via the reality TV show “LA Ink.” He claimed that while Von D was on the show, she pretended the castle was her own, and that his mother “didn't have the energy or the heart to pursue her for that.” He also said his mom told him “she was afraid of what this person's energy would then bring forth to her.”

Ultimately, Dresbach said he and his family hold Von D at least partially responsible for his mother dying from cancer.

“Our family believes that the stress of the fires and the restoration process and the lawsuit is truly what brought [the cancer] back with such vengeance,” he said. “The life experience is short. When you have to deal with people like this, it really does strip off years … And my family, my dear mom, had to be on the receiving end of that. So I do not forgive her.”

@hollywoodhillscastle Some stories deserve to be told #castle #hollywood ♬ original sound – Teva

‘I wasn't even in the home': Von D responds

Von D took to TikTok to respond to Dresbach's viral accusations. In her video, which now has more than 3.8 million views, she said she was “disheartened” by his claims. She added that they were “not true,” and said she “wasn't even in the home when the fire happened.” Instead, she said she “was on a book tour” and denied having had Dresbach's mother, Deborah, sign an NDA.

Von D said she believes the castle suffered from an electrical fire, and directly contradicted Dresbach's account of the arson investigators.

“The arson specialists … that came over to inspect everything literally told us that it was not a candle fire, that this was most likely started in the basement in that old recording studio from some type of faulty wires or from the panel,” Von D said. “I have the emails where I had asked Deborah on several occasions and told her that there was electrical issues in the house … that she refused to get professionally fixed.”

“Do I think that this could have been avoided?” Von D asked. “Possibly … I don't know. But to go forward and blame me and my gothic decor, it's just not right.”

Von D expresses sympathy for the family

She went on to express sympathy for Dresbach's family, noting that “no one came out of this situation unscathed.”

“I am very fully aware that she lost … the home that she owned,”  Von D said. “I lost the home that I lived in. You know, the fire took everything from me. I mean, I literally had nothing. I lost all my clothes, my computer, my hard drives, all my photos … And most importantly, my little kitten, Valentine, was in the house when the fire happened … Smoke inhalation killed her. So, you know, it was  traumatic for everybody.”

She called Dresbach's assertion that she was in any way responsible for his mother's death “such an unfair thing to impose on someone.”

“I am beyond sorry for your loss, Teva, I really am,” Von D said. “I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a mother that you're so close with. But at the same time, I didn't set the house on fire. This was a tragedy, and it was out of both of our controls.”

She proceeded to share screenshots of alleged correspondence with Dresbach's family. Two screenshots appeared to show Deborah praising Von D's decoration choices and how she was taking care of the home. Another shows Von D asking Deborah to bring in qualified professionals to check on multiple problems within the house, including electrical issues.

What did the insurance company conclude?

According to People, “in May 2012, State Farm insurance filed a civil complaint in a Los Angeles Superior Court against Von D,” claiming she had “caused multiple candles to be lit within the premises.” People reports “the incident allegedly led to an insurance payout of $909,199.49.” A State Farm investigation “determined Von D to be liable,” in its complaint. State Farm dropped the suit after reaching a settlement. The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.

Dresbach responded to Von D's video in an update, saying he'd called his father “to double check that [he] didn't get any misinformation.”

“We have seven documents from fire investigators determining it was a fire caused by candles,” Dresbach said. “We have court records, fire investigators documents and so forth.”

Buzz News has reached out to Dresbach and Von D via email.