Carole Baskin sues Netflix over ‘unauthorized footage’ in ‘Tiger King 2’

Author: Zoe Christen Jones / CBS
Published:
Carole Baskin. Courtesy of Netflix

Carole Baskin, the owner of a Tiger sanctuary in Florida, has filed a lawsuit against Netflix over the use of her image in the upcoming sequel of its popular “Tiger King” documentary series. Baskin is demanding the streaming giant to remove any mention of her name and her sanctuary, Big Cat Rescue.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida Tampa Division, names Netflix and the Royal Goode production company as defendants and claims the “Tiger King 2” trailer uses “unauthorized footage” of the plaintiffs and alleges they will suffer “irreparable harm” if the show is released.

The lawsuit claims the couple had only signed forms to be featured in the first series. Netflix declined to comment when reached by CBS News. The show is set to return on November 18.

The initial series, which premiered on Netflix in March 2020, followed the story of Joseph Maldonado-Passage, who goes by Joe Exotic, the world of big cat ownership and depicted Baskin as his rival. Last January, he was sentenced to prison after being convicted of trying to hire men to kill Baskin.

The lawsuit claims the Baskins refused to participate in the sequel when approached by producers. After the first film’s release, the lawsuit said the couple was subjected to “tens of thousands of pieces of hate mail as well as verbal harassment and death threats.”

“In short, the Baskins’ reputations suffered immeasurably, all to the detrimental effect of their big cat welfare mission,” it adds.

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