Netflix’s latest true crime documentary, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, may be all the buzz on social media, but at least one person is not a fan. After the series debuted on the streaming platform last week, Carole Baskin, the owner of Florida’s Big Cat Rescue and Joe Exotic’s nemesis, is slamming the streamer, alleging that the project she was pitched to participate in is not what ended up on screen.
“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 recent blog post.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“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,” she continued, explaining that she is most disturbed by how the series portrayed the circumstances around the disappearance of her second husband, millionaire Jack Donald Lewis, who was last seen alive on August 18, 1997.
“[The documentary] 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.”
“There is no short, simple way to refute so many lies,” she continued. “If you do want to know the truth, it requires understanding the history of events in the years before my husband’s disappearance and the roles and behaviors of the people interviewed in the series, which I have tried to do as concisely as I can below but still requires a few pages.”
In her post, Baskin went on to address specific points the documentary made, including the time prior to her husband’s disappearance, his wealth, and the people the producers of Tiger King chose to interview.
Netflix has not yet responded to Baskin’s claims.
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is available for streaming on Netflix.
