Tiger King’s Carole Baskin claims the Netflix docuseries is full of ‘lies and innuendos’ and suggests her missing husband had Alzheimer’s
Carole Baskin scorched the Netflix original documentary Tiger King in a post on her Big Cat Rescue site from Tuesday.
The 58-year-old animal rights activist was particularly upset that the seven-part series raises the possibility that she was involved in the disappearance of her husband Jack ‘Don’ Lewis.
Her post suggests the late businessman was suffering from dementia and behaving erratically in the weeks leading up to his disappearance, and she attributes many of the conspiracy theories to his friends and contacts of Joe Exotic.
Carole Baskin, 58, penned an impassioned critique of Netflix’s new docuseries Tiger King on her website on Tuesday, which disputed rumors that she killed her husband Don Lewis
Carole opened her lengthy post with a video featuring her current husband Howard Baskin, which was posted to YouTube on Saturday.
He claimed in the clip that the filmmakers originally proposed a documentary in the mold of the hit film Blackfish, about the treatment of Orcas at aquatic theme parks.
‘When the directors of the Netflix documentary Tiger King came to us five years ago they said they wanted to make the big cat version of Blackfish (the documentary that exposed abuse at SeaWorld) that would expose the misery caused by the rampant breeding of big cat cubs for cub petting exploitation and the awful life the cats lead in roadside zoos and back yards if they survive,’ Carole wrote.
But she said the series that was ultimately produced had ‘the sole goal of being as salacious and sensational as possible to draw viewers.’
Misleading: Carole’s post opened with a video of her current husband Howard Baskin claim the documentarians presented their movie as an update on Blackfish
Not buying it: Instead, she claimed the film was full of ‘lies and innuendos from people who are not credible.’ The subject, Joe Exotic, is in federal prison for trying to hire someone to murder Carole
The film follows the exploits of Joe Exotic (real name: Joseph Maldonado-Passage) who was America’s most prolific tiger breeder, before he went to federal prison for numerous animal rights violations and for trying to hire someone to murder Carole.
She went on to deride the ‘lies and innuendos from people who are not credible’ who claimed she was involved in the 1997 disappearance of her husband Don Lewis.
Carole claimed that he was gradually showing signs of ‘mental deterioration’ for years leading up to his disappearance.
According to her, he began hoarding junk and started dumpster diving. During one trip he got stuck in a dumpster and had to call her for help after he couldn’t remember where he was.
Don was allegedly to be tested for Alzheimer’s disease, but after a change in doctors he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which Carole claimed not to have known about until after he disappeared.
He began defecating in the yard and started inviting homeless men into their home, though he disappeared before a scheduled appointment with a specialist about his deterioration.
Falling apart: She claims Don suffered from behavior changes in the years before his 1997 disappearance and may have suffered from Alzheimer’s in addition to bipolar disorder
Troubling signs: Don began hoarding junk, defecating in the yard and welcoming homeless men into the house, she alleges
In order to counter those who thought Don’s wealth might have been an incentive to do him harm, Carole said that he was far from a millionaire when they met, and she claimed it was only with her help in real estate deals that he became a multimillionaire.
Those who cast a shadow on the big cat rescuer in the documentary also came in for criticism.
She took Don’s former wife Gladys Lewis Cross and her daughters to task for painting her as a homewrecker, despite statement they made in print in 1998 suggesting he was a serial philanderer and a sex addict.
Changed their tune: Carole took Don’s ex-wife and daughters to task for calling her a homewrecker despite calling him a sex addict and serial philanderer in print in 1998
As for the more salacious claim that Don had been killed and put into a meat grinder and fed to the rescue cats, Carole flatly denied it.
One of the more suspicious elements was a restraining order that Don filed (that was not approved) in which he claimed Carole had a weapon and had threatened to kill him months before his disappearance.
She claims he was upset that she tried to dispose of the junk he collected when he would fly to Costa Rica for a week at a time, and the restraining order was an exaggerated document to stop her.
Though Baskin clearly wanted to clear her name, she ended her post with a link to a Longreads piece on big cat collectors in America.
Passion project: Though Baskin clearly wanted to clear her name, she ended her post with a link to a Longreads piece on big cat collectors in America
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