Carole Baskin has filed a lawsuit against Netflix over Tiger King season 2 footage. Released in 2020 on Netflix, the Tiger King docuseries took the streaming service world by storm and became an instant success. Centering on eccentric Joe Exotic and a group of his zoo employees, enemies, and fellow conspirators, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness explores the complicated world of the big cat breeding business. Featuring interviews with Exotic and owner of Big Cat Rescue, Carole Baskin, Tiger King highlights the perdurable rivalry between the two.
Following Tiger King’s debut, figures from the true-crime docuseries, mainly Baskin, became household names and popular topics in pop culture. After Tiger King aired, major developments in the lives of the featured players came to light, and the series has spawned numerous dramatized series projects, including a show that stars Kate McKinnon as the outlandish Baskin. Recently, Netflix revealed that a second installment of the breakout series was on the horizon and released the first trailer for Tiger King season 2. Now, it appears Tiger King 2 has become embroiled in controversy before its release.
Per Variety, Baskin has filed a lawsuit against Netflix for using footage of her in Tiger King 2. Filed by Baskin and her husband, Howard, in Florida federal court, the suit against Netflix and production company, Royal Goode Productions, alleges that using her footage in Tiger King 2 is a breach of contract since they only signed appearance releases for season 1. According to the documents, the Baskins are demanding that all footage of them be removed from Tiger King 2 and any related promotional materials, effective immediately.
Reportedly, Baskin also stated in the lawsuit that she was led astray about the premise of the docuseries when she was filming the project. According to the suit, Baskin alleges the series was described to her as “being an expose of the big cat breeding business and cub petting trade akin to the documentary feature film entitled 'Blackfish,'" instead of focusing on Joe Exotic. Furthermore, the Baskins are requesting that the court intervenes by November 16, a date before Tiger King 2 releases on Netflix.
Of course, Baskin has been vocal about her distaste, distrust, and disdain with the creative forces behind Tiger King, and she feels she was misrepresented in the docuseries. Recently, Baskin offered a scathing review of Tiger King and made it clear that she wants no involvement in Tiger King 2. It appears Baskin is laying out the legal groundwork to ensure she won’t appear in the next installment. For now, it remains to be seen how Netflix will handle the Baskin lawsuit with the Tiger King 2 launch days away.
Source: Variety