EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — "Tiger King" star Carole Baskin hopes to raise awareness for her Florida animal sanctuary Big Cat Rescue by competing on the current season of "Dancing With the Stars," but her time may be coming to an end.
Admitting she’s not a dancer, the big-cat rights activist is barely hanging on after her second week of competition on the hit reality reality series.
"I really feel the pressure to stay on this show throughout the entire season, so that every single aweek they are seeing cat prints and thinking of big cats and making congress to support our federal bill," said Baskin.
Baskin gained worldwide attention in the hugely popular Netflix documentary series, which followed her long-standing rivalry with former zoo operator Joe Exotic. Baskin admits the ride has not been a storybook journey, as death threats and hateful messages were made to her on social media in the wake of the show's success.
"It’s been totally different when people can hide their identities," she said. "Every two minutes after "Tiger King," for the next three months, my phone was going off with people screaming at me. They wanted to kill me and my family and burn the sanctuary down. They were saying, 'you have cats in cages,' and I said, 'you guys, we are in the same tribe, we don’t want cats in cages.'"
Now a hometown celebrity in Tampa, Flor., Baskin turned down hundreds of interview offers and appearances until "Dancing With the Stars" came around. But she confesses her fame is a double-edged sword.
"I was accustom to people running up and saying, 'oh I love the cat rescue,' and so even during that time, I knew people wanted me dead, hitmen hired, and I don’t know if I want this person running up to me," she revealed. "But now it’s like 100 more people running up to me , so now I’m in the 'hide or flight' mode all the time."
Here are five things you need to know about Baskin and her time on "Dancing With the Stars":
- Baskin received was saved in the first "Dancing With the Stars" elimination by judge Derek Hough, and for week two of the competition, she scored a 16 out of 30 for her Viennese Waltz.
- Baskin is currently at the bottom of the pack with her score, trailing four points behind "Selling Sunset" star Chrishell Stause and seven behind Grammy-winning rapper Nelly.
- The 59-year-old big-cat rights activist is CEO of Big Cat Rescue, a non-profit animal sanctuary based near Tampa, Flor., and was motivated by her daughter to say 'yes' to the show.
- Baskin's long-running feud with former zoo owner Joe Exotic served as the main subject of "Tiger King," with Exotic claiming Baskin was involved in the disappearance of her ex-husband. In a 2013 lawsuit against Exotic for harassment and trademark infringement, a court ordered him to pay Baskin $1 million in damages, leading to his eventual bankruptcy.
- Exotic was convicted in January of attempting to hire a hitman to kill Baskin, along with seven federal charges of animal abuse. He is currently serving a 22 year sentence in federal prison.
The 29th season of "Dancing With the Stars" airs Mondays on ABC.