Here's What Carole Baskin Has Been Up To Since Filming 'Tiger King'
It has been quite the journey for nature, drama, and true crime lovers since Tiger King was released on Netflix on March 20, 2020. The docuseries covers the bizarre rivalry of exotic animal owners Joseph Maldonado-Passage (Joe Exotic) and Carole Baskin, and is officially leaving viewers begging for more. After watching all seven episodes of the docuseries, odds are you're wondering: Where is Carole Baskin in 2020?
Despite the viral success of Tiger King, not everyone is enamored with it. Baskin, the founder and CEO of Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida, for one, was less than pleased with the doc. According to a recent blog post published to the Big Cat Rescue website on March 29, Baskin found the series to be "salacious, and sensational."
Baskin went on to say the series turned out differently than what the filmmakers had outlined for her during filming:
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.
In response to Baskin's comments, Tiger King's co-producer Rebecca Chaiklin told the LA Times, "We were completely forthright with the characters. With any project that goes on for five years, things evolve and change, and we followed it as any good storyteller does. We could have never known when we started this project that it was going to land where it did."
According to Variety, Baskin and her husband Howard still live near their Big Cat Rescue headquarters, and are taking precautions to protect their workers and their animals during the coronavirus pandemic. While that means the facility is shut down to visitors, and many staff members are working from home, Baskin is apparently still staying busy. In addition to the extensive blog post she published, covering everything from her former husband's disappearance to the meat grinder to the treatment of the animals in her care, she continues to post vlogs to her personal YouTube channel as well as create content for DailyBigCat.
It looks like all this Tiger King attention might not be the end of the spotlight for Baskin, either. Kate McKinnon is set to play Baskin in an upcoming scripted series, so buckle up, all you cool cats and kittens, for what's sure to be another wild ride.
