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Virtually every single person who appears in the Netflix docuseries Tiger King possesses a certain set of qualities that makes you wonder if you’re the butt of a joke orchestrated by every other person on the planet who agreed to put their differences aside in a coordinated effort to convince you it’s not a mockumentary even though you’re almost positive it is.
However, unless I’m the person getting The Truman Show treatment, all signs point to the show being very, very real and the same can be said for all of the personalities that are showcased over the course of seven episodes.
The world may never see a figure more eccentric than Joe Exotic, and while the Tiger King himself may defy basically every label, the same can’t be said for his mortal enemy, as there may also never be another person capable of personifying the “Crazy Cat Lady” archetype quite like Carole Baskin.
If people who are obsessed with cats have a reputation for being a bit “off,” it stands to reason that those who feel the same way about big cats are very off and that’s the vibe I got from Baskin when I started watching the show. However, I have to say I did not anticipate the bomb Doc Antle dropped when he casually mentioned she may have killed her husband and fed him to tigers.
Of course, Baskin wants all you cool cats and kittens to know you shouldn’t buy into those accusations but that hasn’t stopped detectives who couldn’t get her to take a polygraph test from asking the public for help with the cold case.
The Big Cat Rescue founder has spent a ton of time in the spin zone since Tiger King premiered last month, and now, she’s released a series of videos in a lengthy post where she addresses a number of supposed inaccuracies and misconceptions stemming from the series.
The polygraph issue was one of the topics she attempted to clarify, as she says she initially agreed to sit down for one but ultimately decided against it because she was afraid her emotional state at the time would’ve resulted in readings that didn’t reflect what she says is the truth.
She also fired back at people who suggested the lawsuit she filed against Joe’s mother was a cash grab, saying it was actually an attempt to obtain assets he’d transferred to her that Baskin believed she was legally entitled to.
There are also some videos responding to criticisms of how she runs her park—including accusations she doesn’t pay workers and concerns about the enclosures used to house her animals—as well as one where she outlines her overall philosophy.
I’d also like to compliment Carole for having the brilliant idea to sit in front of a green screen while recording these. There’s no way people on the internet will be able to figure out a way to take advantage of that.