Credit: Netflix

Chantel Rodriguez

Staff writer

Cvr5570@psu.edu

Carole Baskin and her husband Howard filed a lawsuit in Florida, suing Netflix and Royal Goode Productions for using their image and past footage on promotional ads of the new sensational season of the ‘Tiger King 2’ series, which is set to premiere on November 17th, 2021. 

Baskin, through court documents, claimed that even though they only signed release forms for the first docuseries, they are promoted on the new series as making special appearances. The lawsuit also details that Baskin and her husband want Netflix to eliminate all unlicensed tapes of themselves marketed in the trailer. 

According to the court documents released on Monday, the Baskins also wished to defer the debut, but a federal judge shot down that motion.

Carole Baskin feels these promotions are blatantly lying and misleading the fans by using their likeness and making the audiences think they are still associated with the Tiger King series. The Tiger King exploded into the perfect pandemic documentary and became a worldwide conversation with eccentric characters and crazy real-life stories and interviews. 

Netflix and Royal Goode Productions have decided not to remark on the lawsuit or claims at this time.

But could this lawsuit have something to do with her set release of an upcoming docuseries on the Discovery+ streaming channel a few days before the release of Tiger King 2? Does she want to take out the competition to keep audiences focused on her? It kind of feels like a ploy to keep the attention on Carole Baskins and her pursuit to become the giant cat justice warrior because she may feel threatened by the Tiger King 2 announcement and their fans. 

The new docuseries “Carole Baskin’s Cage Fight” is premiering on November 13th, 2021, on Discovery+, documenting her life as an activist for the cats and her inquiry into her rivals at the G.W. zoo. The G.W. zoo was associated with the blonde mullet legend of “Tiger King,” Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as the infamous Joe Exotic. Ownership of the zoo later came into the hands of the show’s antagonists Jeff Lowe and his wife. 

It’s no secret that Carole wants to distance herself from all Tiger King anything that Netflix showcased. The show perpetuated a certain suspicion and opinion of her being involved in the disappearance of her late husband. The main topic of her cast members and her late husband’s daughters’ interviews was that she killed her husband and fed him to her big cats. From the interviews and the outrageous songs made about her from Joe Exotic, I think it was a turning point for fans, and most believed she must’ve done something. 

In her Big Cat Rescue blog, Carole Baskin sounded off a review in opposition to Tiger King’s first season, which stated: “As part of that, it has a segment devoted to suggesting, with lies and innuendos from people who are not credible, that I had a role in the disappearance of my husband Don in 1997. They did not care about the truth. The unsavory lies are better for getting viewers.” 

One thing that can be said here is that Carole Baskin is not looking to back down from Netflix. These lawsuits will surely get the attention of fans and bring the ratings to streaming channels for both premieres. I don’t think it will be the last of us hearing about the Tiger King series or the Baskins.