Social media has been buzzing about the new Netflix docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, and one of its most discussed subjects, Carole Baskin, is now speaking out against it.
The series spends time on Baskin and on questions viewers and other people in the show have raised about the 1997 disappearance of her husband, Don Lewis, who was declared legally dead in 2002. Baskin has denied any involvement. The wider story follows Joseph Maldonado Passage, known as Joe Exotic, who was convicted on federal charges that include animal abuse and a murder for hire plot targeting Baskin.
In a statement posted on the website of her nonprofit, Big Cat Rescue, Baskin said the series presents its claims without regard for the truth and did not give her a chance to respond before release. She wrote that the filmmakers did not care about the truth and that sensational claims were better for getting viewers.
Baskin also said the directors first told her they wanted to make a big cat version of Blackfish, exposing the cub breeding and roadside zoo industry. She says the finished series does not do that and instead aims to be as salacious as possible.
She also addressed the online theory about a meat grinder. According to Baskin, the grinder her sanctuary owned was a small tabletop hand crank model, and she called the idea that it could be used the way viewers suggested absurd. She shared a photo of it to support her point.
The series’ co producers, Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin, responded in comments to the Los Angeles Times. They said they were completely forthright with the people in the series and that a project spanning five years naturally evolves along the way.
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