Big cats rights activist and founder of Big Cat Rescue, Carole Baskin, filed a federal lawsuit on Monday against the hit TV show Tiger King on Netflix, which she was a part of in season one back in 2020. The lawsuit could also delay the rollout of the show’s second season later this month.
Baskin and her husband filed the lawsuit against Netflix, Royale Goode Productions and producers Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin for using footage of the couple as promotional material for season two.
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madnessdebuted on Netflix last year and it became one of the most successful releases on the platform. The show focuses on a group of big cat conservationists and collectors such as Joe Exotic and Baskin.
Exotic lost his zoo at the end of the show and he was also convicted and imprisoned for plotting a murder that targeted Baskin. However, Baskin received enormous online hate after Exotic claimed that Baskin murdered her second husband who went missing in 1997, a claim that Baskin has repeatedly denied.
After receiving an endless amount of criticism and threats, Baskin decided to not be involved with the show anymore when Netflix announced the second season. “I told them to lose my number,” Baskin said. “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.”
Carole’s husband, Howard Basking released a statement that reads, “While we cannot stop Netflix and Royal Goode Productions from producing low-brow, salacious and sensational programming, we do believe that we have the right to control footage filmed of us under false pretenses.”
