‘DWTS’: Carole Baskin Claws Like a Tiger in Her Intro, and Fans Are Terrified

Tiger King subject Carole Baskin had Dancing With The Stars viewers talking even before she took the dance floor. During the introductions early on, Baskin made sure no one could forget what she is famous for. She clawed at the air as if she was a tiger, which terrified some viewers at home.

Baskin is the co-founder of Big Cat Rescue, an animal sanctuary located near Tampa. She became a national celebrity in March when Netflix released Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, a documentary series about Joseph Maldonado-Passage, an Oklahoma zoo owner better known as Joe Exotic. The series focused on the tabloid aspects of Exotic’s life and his feud with Baskin, which culminated in him going to jail. Exotic is now serving a 22-year sentence for 17 federal charges of animal abuse and two counts of murder for hire. Prosecutors said he hired a hitman to kill Baskin, who tried to get his zoo shut down.

Baskin is involved in her own controversies. As Tiger King viewers saw, Exotic believes Baskin killed her second husband, millionaire Don Lewis, and fed his body to her tigers. Lewis went missing in 1997 and has not been seen since. He was declared legally dead in 2002 and Baskin denies any wrongdoing. Lewis’ daughters and their lawyer bought commercial time during DWTS, asking viewers for new tips related to Lewis’ disappearance.

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