In her first interview since the documentary debuted on Netflix, the animal rights activist reveals that she has had to turn her phone off which she used to field calls from emergency services.
- Apr 13, 2020
AceShowbiz - Animal rights activist Carole Baskin is furious with "Tiger King" documentary makers because she has become the target of death threats following her portrayal on the hit Netflix series.
The true crime saga, titled "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness", focuses on incarcerated Oklahoma zoo boss Joe Exotic and his plot to kill his bitter rival Baskin, who runs a big cat rescue facility in the state, but it also shines a light on the 1997 disappearance of her second husband, multi-millionaire Jack 'Don' Lewis.
No one was ever charged with his murder, but he was declared legally dead in 2002.
Florida-based Carole claims the completed series is not what she initially signed up for, because all she ever wanted to highlight was the abuse suffered by animals in the captive tiger trade, and instead, she feels duped into appearing onscreen.
In her first interview since "Tiger King" debuted on Netflix on 20 March, Carole tells the Tampa Bay Times, "I just feel so angry that people have totally missed the point. And the point is these cubs are being abused and exploited and the public is enabling that."
Her third husband, Howard Baskin, adds, "There's almost no way to describe the intensity of feeling of betrayal (sic)."
Carole claims the show has turned her into a public hate figure, subjected to harassment and even death threats, making her too scared to leave her home or answer her cell phone, through which she used to field calls from emergency services regarding help for injured big cats.
"I've had to turn my phone off," the 58-year-old says. "I can't tell the real ones (calls) from the fake ones because they're always out of state numbers anyway."
In "Tiger King", Exotic accuses Carole of killing Lewis and feeding him to her tigers, allegations she firmly denies, and while she is not considered to be a suspect in her ex's death, local police have reopened the cold case in the hopes fans of the show will provide them with new leads.
The Baskins' interview emerges as fans sink their teeth into a new bonus episode of "Tiger King", in which actor and TV personality Joel McHale interviews people who appeared on the docu-series.
The "Tiger King and I" was released on Sunday (April 12), and features chats with the likes of John Finlay, Erik Cowie and Kelci Saffery.
