Tiger King subject Carole Baskin and her husband Howard Baskin became two of the most unlikely people to cover a 50 Cent song when they used “In Da Club” to help wish someone a happy birthday in a Cameo video. Although the clip was only meant for a fan named Charlotte, it still went viral and caught the attention of 50 Cent himself. He shared it on his Instagram account and laughed it off.
“Hey, all you cool cats and kittens. It’s Carole Baskin and Howard Baskin at Big Cat Rescue. We are here with the crib mates to wish Charlotte a happy birthday,” Baskin said at the beginning of the clip. The Baskins then start rapping to “In da Club,” with Howard even taking out a bottle of Bacardi to drink. Baskin has been recording messages for fans on Cameo, charging $299 per clip.
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50 Cent shared the birthday video on Instagram, adding, “This song wasn’t music it was magic, it went everywhere in the world then never went away every day is somebody’s birthday.” He also referenced his dispute with Murder Inc. co-founder Ja Rule, adding, “But the s— it did to Murder inc [laughing out loud].”
Although the Netflix series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness has brought Baskin new fame, the Big Cat Rescue owner has said repeatedly she is not a fan of the series. In an April interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Baskin said she felt betrayed by directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin because she thought the documentary would focus on illegal big cat trafficking. Instead, the series focused more on Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as Joe Exotic, and his rivalry with Baskin. In March, she said Goode and Chaiklin sold her on participating in the series by telling her it would be similar to Blackfish, the documentary that exposed Sea World’s controversial practices. One episode focused on Maldonado-Passage’s claim that Baskin was responsible for her second husband Jack Lewis’ disappearance in 1997.
“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,” Baskin wrote in a blog post. “There are no 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.”
In late May, Baskin was granted ownership of Maldonado-Passage’s former zoo, which is now owned by Jeff Lowe, who was given 120 days to leave the property. Lowe told Entertainment Tonight that the zoo will be in “complete hell” when Baskin takes over. “I mean because I’m not taking care of it as we leave,” Lowe said. “The bamboo is about taking this place over.”
