Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

A Netflix Star Is Suing to Be Removed From This Hit Show

Carole Baskin wants nothing to do with the new season of Tiger King.

Carole Baskin in a still from "Tiger King"
Netflix

Tiger King was a hit when Netflix released it last year, but there is one person who is far from excited about seeing it return for another season. Tiger King star Carole Baskin is suing Netflix and Royal Goode Productions, claiming that she did not agree to allow footage of her to be used in another season of the show or its marketing. Baskin is suing the companies in Florida federal court and requested a temporary restraining order to block the footage from being released.


Tiger King premiered in March 2020 and became a huge success. The docuseries follows a group of people involved in the big cat world, including collectors, like the focus of the series Joe Exotic, and conservationists, like Baskin. Read on to find out more about Baskin's lawsuit against the upcoming Season 2 and her issues with the series.

RELATED: 13 Documentaries Tiger King Fans Should Watch Right Now.

Baskin is suing Netflix and Tiger King's production company.

Carole and Howard Baskin at the premiere of "The Conservation Game" in August 2021Araya Doheny/Getty Images for NightFly Entertainment, Ltd.

As reported by Entertainment Weekly, Baskin and her husband, Howard Baskin, are suing both Netflix and the production company Royal Goode Productions. As the lawsuit states, Royal Goode is the production company of Tiger King executive producer and director Eric Goode. The Baskins claim that when they signed an appearance release, it only applied to one documentary, which became the first season of Tiger King.

"Understanding that the Appearance Releases limited Royal Goode Productions’ use of the footage of the Baskins and Big Cat Rescue to the single, initial documentary motion picture, the Baskins believed that any sequel—though odious—would not include any of their footage," reads the lawsuit.

Best Life has reached out to Netflix and Goode and has not yet received a response.

The Baskins want to be removed from the second season.

Carole Baskin at a screening of "The Conservation Game" in June 2021Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

The Baskins are requesting to be removed from the second season altogether, including promotional material, like the trailer released last week. In the lawsuit, Baskin claims that when Goode and Tiger King's other director, Rebecca Chaiklin, contacted her about the sequel, she responded, "No. And lose my number."

The Baskins are requesting a jury trial, and they also requested a temporary restraining order in an attempt to immediately stop footage of them being used. The restraining order was denied by a judge. "While the Court understands the Baskins' frustration, it does not appear that inclusion of Defendants' footage of the Baskins will cause any immediate harm that cannot be compensated with monetary damages," wrote U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington, as reported by NPR.

The new season comes out soon.

Carole Baskin in the trailer for "Tiger King 2"Netflix / YouTube

Tiger King 2 is set to premiere on Nov. 17. A preview for the new season was released on Oct. 27 and features Baskin, Exotic, and other characters. (Exotic is currently in prison after being convicted on multiple counts, including involvement in a murder-for-hire plot to kill Baskin.) The lawsuit states that the trailer "prominently depicts the Baskins as a central element of the sequel through the use of the film footage acquired by Royal Goode Productions."

For more celebrity news delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.

Baskin wasn't happy with how she was depicted in the first season.

Carole Baskin in the trailer for the first season of "Tiger King"Netflix / YouTube

Baskin's issues with Tiger King are nothing new. After the first season came out, she posted a statement on her Big Cat Rescue website in which she said she thought the documentary was going to be "the big cat version of Blackfish" and 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 series 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's storyline on the first season included claims that she was involved in the disappearance of her second husband, Don Lewis, which she has denied. "[I]t 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," Baskin wrote in her statement.

RELATED: The Worst Dancing With the Stars Contestants Ever, According to the Pros.