Carole Baskin blasts Tiger King ‘lies’ and says show ‘sparks death threats’ & stars can’t handle abuse

CAROLE Baskin has blasted Tiger King’s “lies” and said the show “sparks death threats” that the stars cannot handle.

The Big Cat Rescue owner shared her thoughts on the show after reptile dealer Jeff Johnson became the latest star to die after appearing on the Netflix series.

GettyCarole Baskin has spoken out about Tiger King[/caption]

Baskin appeared in the first season of Tiger King

“I believe the Tiger King series on Netflix were so lacking in journalistic ethics as to have created false perceptions of the characters that were created through clever editing,” Baskin told The Sun.

“The lies that were magnified in the series and proliferated in the media frenzy resulted in death threats and an unimaginable onslaught from abuse to me, my family, co rescuers and Big Cat Rescue.

“It’s easy to imagine that others in the series may have experienced similar reactions on a scale they were not equipped to handle.”

The show has frequently been struck by tragedy since it first aired in March of 2020.

Despite Joe Exotic and the rest of the cast becoming household names when the first series aired last year, many have fallen victim to the Tiger King curse.

Eccentric Joe’s fourth husband Travis Maldonado was 23 years old when he shot himself in the zoo’s gift shop – with his death covered in an episode of Tiger King.

And Joe, himself, is serving time in prison while also living with cancer – and it hasn’t been a bed of roses for his fellow cast members.

REPTILE HANDLER DEAD

Several of those who cropped up in the series have since been slapped with animal cruelty charges, arrested for drink driving and, this week, it was revealed that reptile dealer Jeff Johnson passed away in September after he reportedly shot himself in front of his wife after the pair got into an argument.

According to TMZ, Jeff was immediately rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Jeff made a brief appearance in episode four of the first season of Tiger King, where he spoke to Carole Baskin.

He was originally friends with Joe, until he got involved with Jeff Lowe.

ZOOKEEPER DEAD

Another fatality came earlier this year when zookeeper Erik Cowie was found dead in his New York apartment, aged 53.

There was nothing suspicious about the death, sources told TMZ, and no drugs were found at the scene, but it is likely that a toxicology test will still be performed.

In the past, Erik – who worked at Joe’s zoo for eight years – has admitted to having a drinking problem but denied speculation he was a meth addict.

Earlier this year, he ran into legal trouble after being busted for a DUI in Oklahoma following a car accident.

However, he did not show up to his court appearance, which led to an arrest warrant being issued in May.

Santa Rosa County Jail/MEGAJoe Exotic is currently in jail[/caption]

EXOTIC BEHIND BARS

Chaos also hit the cast when, in January 2020, Joe Exotic was sentenced to 22 years in prison for 17 federal charges for animal abuse and an attempted murder-for-hire plot against his nemesis Carole Baskin.

And earlier this year, the former zookeeper was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

However, he’s been told all tests, medical visits and blood probes were “not happening” and doctors fear his cancer has spread to his pelvis and stomach.

He even told us he was scared he’ll die of coronavirus in prison due to a weakened immune system.

Last month, he told us he’s waited for months to get care after his prostate cancer was diagnosed, but revealed he will not get chemotherapy if the condition has reached Stage 3 or beyond.

Joe has always maintained his innocence and Team Tiger, a group of lawyers and supporters, has been working behind the scenes for his release. 

Following the US Court of Appeals’ decision to review the sentence he was given, Joe is now awaiting a re-sentencing.