Conservationist Carole Baskin sues Netflix for using her footage in 'Tiger King 2'

Netflix recently released the trailer of the true-crime documentary Tiger King 2, the sequel of the documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness. The documentary is centred on the life of former zookeeper and convicted felon Joe Exotic and his murder attempt on big cat conservationists Carole Baskin. After the release of the Tiger King 2 trailer, Carole Baskin and her husband Howard Baskin are now suing Netflix for using their footage in the trailer of the upcoming documentary.

Carole Baskin sues Netflix

Joe Exotic's rival Carole Baskin has sued the streaming platform, Netflix and Royal Goode Productions for using her footage in Tiger King 2 trailer. As per Variety, Baskin and her husband, Howard Baskin, filed suit in Tampa, Florida. on Monday. Baskin alleged that Royal Goode Productions has breached her contract by continuing to use footage of her and her husband in Tiger King 2. Baskin claimed that they only signed appearance release forms for the first documentary. 

The document read, "Understanding that the Appearance Releases limited Royal Goode Productions’ use of the footage of the Baskins and Big Cat Rescue to the single, initial documentary motion picture, the Baskins believed that any sequel – though odious – would not include any of their footage. By utilizing the film footage of the Baskins and Big Cat Rescue secured by Royal Goode Productions under the Appearance Releases in ‘sizzle reels’ and promotional trailers for the sequel entitled ‘Tiger King 2,’ the Defendants are in breach of the terms of the Appearance Releases."

The Baskins have demanded that Netflix and Royal Goode Productions remove all of their footage from the upcoming documentary. Baskin has been vocal about her disdain for Tiger King 2, and earlier this year told Variety, "I wouldn’t call Eric Goode or Rebecca Chaiklin true documentarians. I mean that was just a reality show dumpster fire." The documentary is set to release on November 17.

Meanwhile, Tiger King explored the deeply interconnected community of big cat conservationists and collectors in America. and the series' main subject was 'Tiger King' Joe Exotic, the eccentric owner of the G.W. Zoo in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. The series followed his bitter years-long feud with Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida. In 2019, Exotic was convicted on 17 federal charges of animal abuse and two counts of attempted murder as he hired a hitman to murder Baskin, and received a 22-year sentence in federal prison.

(Image: Instagram/@carolebaskincat/@thequarantigers)