After its explosive first installment, Carole Baskin refused to return for Tiger King season 2. The big cat conservationist’s life was uprooted overnight following the scathing documenting of the events that led up to the disappearance of Baskin’s estranged husband, Don Lewis. Any bit of positive celebrity that she’d gained due to the Netflix hit docuseries has been dwarfed by suspicion and outrage regarding her involvement in Lewis’ alleged murder.
The first season of Tiger King suggests that Baskin may have killed Lewis and fed him to her cats, a theory that has since taken the world by storm. There has been a significant public outcry in the time that has passed since its release, so much so that law enforcement has reopened the case of Lewis’ disappearance. Lewis’ family has been leading the charge against Baskin, even going so far as to buy air time during her Dancing With The Stars appearance to bring attention to the case.
Tiger King season 2 answers few questions, instead offering up a slew of alternative theories regarding Lewis’ disappearance ranging from Lewis being alive and well in Costa Rica to him having been killed by his handyman, Kenny Farr. Although many of these alternative explanations in some ways shift responsibility from Baskin, most of them still implicate her either directly or by way of alleged withholding of evidence. While the evidence against Baskin in Tiger King’s first season was limited, there was sufficient suspicion and intrigue to present the theory against her. But the ad hoc suppositions presented in Tiger King’s second season are messy and irresponsible, and for Baskin to appear in the show and defend herself against them gives unwarranted legitimacy to the claims. So, her hesitancy to further involve herself in the series comes as no surprise. Whether or not Baskin did kill Don Lewis, it was in her best interest not to appear, explaining her decision to refuse participation in Tiger King season 2.
Baskin and her husband, Howard, have clarified their desire to be left out of Tiger King going forward. The couple only signed appearance release forms for the show’s first season, so they were surprised to see themselves featured in the trailer for the show’s second season. The Baskins filed a lawsuit against Netflix in the beginning of November, alleging that the platform and production company, Royal Goode Productions, are in breach of contract for including footage of them without their consent. They have also expressed their displeasure with the way the original series was pitched to them, saying they were told the documentary would focus on the exploitation of endangered wildlife instead of centering around Baskin’s feud with Joe Exotic. According to court documents, the Baskins are seeking to have all footage of them used in Tiger King’s second season removed from the platform.
Tiger King’s second season was largely disappointing, and it wouldn’t have been much improved by Baskin’s involvement. And while the story of Joe Exotic appears to be long from over, it seems unlikely that the Baskins will agree to take part for the foreseeable future. Netflix’s use of footage from Baskin’s video diary may well fall under fair use, but their entertaining of speculative, unsubstantiated theories make her decision not to appear seem like the right call to make.