What Carole Baskin, Doc Antle, and Joe Exotic Really Think of 'Tiger King'
Tiger King is the craziest thing streaming on television right now... and maybe ever? The Netflix docuseries investigates the rivalry between eccentric big cat breeder Joe Exotic and animal rights "activist" Carole Baskin, who is accused of feeding her missing millionaire husband to a tiger. Every episode introduces a new set of crazy characters, including a polygamist, a drug kingpin, a secret FBI informant, and an alleged cult leader. And that barely scratches the surface of the story.
Some were pleased with their portrayal in Tiger King—others, not so much. Here's what everyone had to say about the true-crime series.
Carole Baskin
In a blog post titled, "LIES IN NETFLIX 'TIGER KING' REGARDING DISAPPEARANCE OF DON LEWIS AND OTHER MISINFORMATION ABOUT BIG CAT RESCUE," Baskin slammed the documentary, calling it "salacious and sensational."
"When the directors of the Netflix documentary Tiger King came to us five years ago they said they wanted to make the big cat version of Blackfish (the documentary that exposed abuse at SeaWorld) that would expose the misery caused by the rampant breeding of big cat cubs for cub petting exploitation and the awful life the cats lead in roadside zoos and back yards if they survive," she wrote. "There are not words for how disappointing it is to see that the docuseries not only does not do any of that but has had the sole goal of being as salacious and sensational as possible to draw viewers."
Baskin was particularly frustrated with the way filmmakers portrayed the suspicious circumstances surrounding the disappearance of her second husband, millionaire Jack Donald Lewis. "[Tiger King] 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 21 years ago,” she wrote. “The series presents this without any regard for the truth or in most cases even giving me an opportunity before publication to rebut the absurd claims. They did not care about truth. The unsavory lies are better for getting viewers."
Joe Exotic
Tiger King director Rebecca Chaiklin told The Chicago Tribune that Joe Exotic is "over the moon" about the documentary: "You can hardly talk to him without him mentioning the amount of press he’s getting. He says people are asking to see his Prince Albert and girls are sending him sexy bikini pictures even though he’s gay. He’s over the moon. Having kept in pretty close touch with him while he’s been in a horrible county prison, this has raised his spirits. Joe definitely did some horrible things to his animals. He was very abusive to them and he shot five tigers, no question about it. But what has happened to him has also been hard."
Doc Antle
On Myrtle Beach Safari's Facebook account, the animal trainer and alleged cult leader said he was "very disappointed" by the documentary. The post, written by Antle and his employees, stated: "We can only assume it is because Doc Antle has been such a high profile wildlife personality for so many decades that his association would create more buzz. It is important to understand that this series is not a documentary; it’s sensationalized entertainment with paid participants."
According to Bustle, Antle and his team also posted a now-deleted statement to Instagram addressing accusations in the documentary that the organization's tigers were euthanized after reaching a certain age. "All cubs are cared for cradle to grave," the post reportedly read. "The wild accusation that we would ever euthanize a cub is manufactured sensationalism."
Howard Baskin
Carole Baskin's husband, Howard, recorded a Facebook video to air his grievances about the show. "In a way the series is about con artists. People like Joe Exotic and Don Antle, who con people out of their money by convincing [visitors] paying to pet tiger cubs somehow helps conservation," Howard said. "In my view, the biggest con artists of them all are [directors] Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin…as far as I can tell, their only goal was to make something as inflammatory and salacious as possible so that Netflix would pay them millions for it."
Howard went on to say that Goode and Chaiklin "never gave us a chance to respond to many of the false claims."
Wow the amount of texts I’ve gotten about Tiger King since I tweeted about it all have mentioned their belief that Carol killed her husband! What are your thoughts? Do you think Carol killed him?
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) March 23, 2020
Then, in a truly bizarre twist, Howard brought up Tiger King fan Kim Kardashian: "I doubt if Kim [Kardashian] will see this video, but if she were to come and spend an hour with Carole, I know she would have her answer and I know what it would be. And of course we would welcome her visiting if she wanted to."
John Finlay
Finlay, who spent more than a decade in a relationship with Joe Exotic, opened up to David Spade on Lights Out about a number of things, including his teeth: "It took a while, it took a good job to get it done, too" he said. Finlay got dentures in July 2019 and was upset the documentary didn't show his new teeth.
He also said being shirtless in the documentary was a "sex appeal thing" that directors Goode and Chaiklin suggested.
Saff
Saff, one of Exotic's employees, also spoke with David Spade on Lights Out about his experience being interviewed for the documentary and what it was like getting his arm torn off by a tiger. Plus, he revealed why Joe wore a paramedic's jacket when the attack occurred: "I think I made it clear in the documentary but [Joe] is all about showmanship."
Saffery called his former boss "a man of many masks."
Jeff Lowe
According to PopCulture.com, Lowe, who purchased Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park from Exotic, wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post that the Tiger King directors "did a good job," but that there was "a little sensationalism here and there." He continued in the post: "For the most part it was a decent Readers Digest [sic] version, telling the story of a sick, twisted animal abuser. Joe Exotic. When I agreed to be involved in this docuseries I was slightly concerned that by [sic] Son's Of Anarchy lifestyle might be too much for the average person to handle. I make no apologies for living my life to the fullest extent. Bu those concerns completely vanished when I saw the segment on Doc Antle, Joe's Messiah and role model. Even I was like, [what the f—]?"
And in his own interview with Spade, Lowe took the opportunity to condemn Baskin: “She’s been exposed for the phony that she is.”
You Might Also Like
