Carole Baskin Gets Booted from Dancing with the Stars After Lion King Samba
Courtesy of movieweb.com:
Paying homage to The Lion King was just not enough to keep Carole Baskin around on Dancing with the Stars, as the Tiger King star became the second celebrity contestant to be eliminated this season. Disney Night served as the theme for the third week of the dancing competition series, the contestants were tasked with dancing and dressing up appropriately for their choice of Disney song. You may not be surprised to learn that Baskin chose Elton John’s “Circle of Life” as heard in The Lion King, and she even went so far as to perform a samba with partner Pasha Pashkov while wearing a lion costume.
While the judges were entertained by Baskin’s costume, they were critical of her dancing abilities. In fact, the combined judges’ score for the performance set the record for the all-time lowest score by any female celebrity in the history of the show. Baskin herself also acknowledged her issues on the dance floor, noting that dancing is “extremely difficult” for her as she pleaded for votes to keep her around. Still, it appears that after narrowly avoiding an elimination in Week 2, Baskin’s luck had run out.
Most of us know Carole Baskin from her rise to fame as a part of this year’s Netflix documentary series, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. Introduced as the CEO of Big Cat Rescue, Baskins’s feud with big cat breeder Joe Exotic was explored at length in the series, and their story captivated the entire world by storm. Allegedly, the quarrel boiled over when Exotic conspired to have Baskin killed, resulting in the former landing a hefty prison sentence. Baskin didn’t escape with her reputation unscathed, as the series also touched on the disappearance of her husband, Don Lewis. Many viewers felt that Baskin was involved, and Exotic has strongly insisted that this is the case as well.
Baskin’s stint on Dancing with the Stars was not without its controversy. Although there’s no physical evidence tying Baskin to the disappearance of her husband, there are many Tiger King viewers who feel confident that she is a murderer. Even accused double-murderer O. J. Simpson has said that there is “no doubt” that Baskin killed Lewis.
The missing man’s family also have their suspicions, which is why Lewis’ daughters have filed a lawsuit against her to find out everything she knows. Lewis’ daughters also paid for advertising space during Baskin’s Dancing with the Stars episodes to promote their new campaign seeking information. If you have any information that can help the Lewis family learn what happened to Don, you can submit tips by calling 646-450-6530. A $100,000 reward is being offered by the family.
Who knows when we’ll be seeing Baskin next, but given her association with Tiger King and Dancing with the Stars, we’ll likely be seeing her back on television again soon enough. Meanwhile, she is also set to be portrayed by Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon in an upcoming limited series. You can check out Baskin’s The Lion King dance in the video below, courtesy of Dancing with the Stars on YouTube.
