The Tiger Queen is being taken to court!
The three daughters and the executive assistant of the Netflix star’s former husband, who went missing in 1997, are suing Carole Baskin for defamation because they believe she was “complicit with jokes” about Don Lewis‘ death during an episode of Dancing With The Stars “when judges brought up TikTok videos inspired by her storyline in Tiger King.”
Related: Carole Baskin Blasts Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion Over Cats Used In WAP Video!
Just before the Big Cat Rescue CEO was set to hit the ballroom during Tuesday’s live show, news of the lawsuit broke, and Lauren Zima of ET caught up with the 59-year-old after her performance to ask how she was feeling about it:
“I haven’t made any kind of jokes about Don’s disappearance and it’s been a very personal thing to me for years. On Cameo, people reach out to me all the time and they want me to say things about that and I just decline their request because I’m not going to make fun of something that was so painful for all of us.”
ICYMI, the TikTok jokes mentioned in the docs are likely a reference to the remix of Megan Thee Stallion‘s Savage, with the lyrics:
“Carole Baskin killed her husband, whacked him. Can’t convince me that it didn’t happen. Fed him to tigers, they snackin’. What’s happening?”
In their suit, which Carole says she found out about “right before” she performed with partner Pasha Pashkov, Lewis’ daughters Gale, Lynda and Donna, and his former executive assistant, Anne McQueen — who aired an PSA about Don’s disappearance during the season premiere on September 14 — claim that she did not correct the comments about him on the ABC series.
They have also accused her of being complicit when jokes were made in her Good Morning America reveal interview earlier this month when she stated she’d “really kill it next week.” Joe Exotic‘s foe says that the news “didn’t stop me from doing my best as I did last week,” and added:
“You have to ask them what their thinking is and why they would continue to do this.”
Similarly, Carole told TMZ on Wednesday that she does not take these jokes about her late husband seriously, and “it’s a stretch” for them to take her to court over the commonly used phrase “killing it.” Not only that, but “there’s no way I’d associate losing him with that word or concept.”
But the lawsuit wasn’t the only difficult thing that Carole had to endure this week! She also got vulnerable on camera when discussing how the popular docuseries has impacted her life, revealing to Zima on Tuesday:
“I tried for a very long time not to cry while we were talking about some of the things that were so personal as far as the negative impact of Tiger King on my family. So it was just by virtue of the fact that I was completely worn down and broke down. I regret crying on TV or in front of my family and of course, that just worried them even that much more. When they saw it, they were like, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s breaking down under the pressure there. We’ve gotta get her out.’ And I’m like, ‘No, I’m fine. I’m fine.'”
It definitely seems like Don’s family isn’t backing down, but neither is Carole! Stay tuned to see how everything continues to play out…
[Image via Netflix.]
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