Tiger King season two reportedly in the works – but Carole Baskin ‘wants $1 million’ from Netflix
Carole Baskin of Big Cat Rescue. (Netflix)
Tiger King, that Netflix docu-series we all kinda forgot about in the relentless drumbeat of dreary news but kept us entertained for the first few weeks of lockdown, is back.
The true crime show about the rise and fall of eccentric zoo-owner Joe Maldonado-Passage, known as Joe Exotic, gripped millions of people across the world as it charged a bitter rivalry between Exotic and an animal rights activist that curdled into a plot to assassinate her.
Months on and the streaming giant is allegedly closing in on securing a second season of Tiger King that would follow Exotic as he tries to clear his name – sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for a murder-for-hire plot – alongside husband Dillon Passage and former business partner Jeff Lowe.
Netflix is, however, reportedly struggling to pin down Big Cats Rescue owner Carole Baskin, who, The Sun said, is demanding a fee of $1 million that she would invest in her animal sanctuary.
Carole Baskin reluctant to appear on Tiger King season two.
The park is currently closed as the coronavirus rampages on in the US, a statement on the Big Cat Rescue website reads.
“Even if COVID-19 is under control by the end of next year (and I think it will be at least that long) I don’t know if I would ever take the risk of allowing one deranged person who saw Tiger King and is from the #FreeJoeExotic clan to gain access,” it said.
“It would be just too easy for a pair or group to work together to distract our volunteers long enough to throw some poisoned treat into a cage for a cat to consume. It’s just not worth the risk.”
The 59-year-old “is asking for a seven-figure sum,” a source told the outlet.
“It’s around the £1 million mark. She wants to plough it into her Florida sanctuary, Big Cat Rescue.
“Taking part in Tiger King opened up her private life and she wants to make sure it’s worth her while.”
Baskin has openly criticised the show’s first season, often hitting back at its editing which appeared to, some viewers said, imply that Baskin killed her husband and fed him to the big cats in her sanctuary.
Baskin’s then-husband Don went missing 21 years ago, and various interviewees in Tiger King accuse her of killing him. She was never charged with any crime in relation to her husband’s disappearance.
She wrote that the series “had the sole goal of being as salacious and sensational as possible to draw viewers”.
