Why Carole Baskin Won't Be Returning To Tiger King

"Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness" pretty much became the phenomenon of 2020. Fans got hooked on the bizarre life of big cat enthusiast, Joe Exotic and his obsession with fellow exotic animal lover, Carole Baskin.

The now infamous Netflix documentary series was viewed by more than 64 million household in its first month on the streaming service (via Variety) and has gone on to inspire some of the most iconic memes to ever hit social media. Not only that, but it's made household names out of its eccentric stars, with Baskin even landing herself a place on Season 29 of "Dancing with the Stars." Who could possibly forget Baskin's first dance to "Eye of the Tiger"?

The Sun reported in August 2020 that Netflix would be bringing the series back to our screens for a second season, but, despite all the success she's seen since putting her life on display on "Tiger King," it sounds like Baskin isn't exactly jumping at the chance to invite the cameras back into her life. But why? Read on for the details.

It looks like "Tiger King" Season 2 will be a Carole Baskin-free zone. Speaking to Page Six, Baskin admitted she'd been approached to be part of the second season but gave the producers a firm no and told them "to lose [her] number." She explained, "The first three months [after 'Tiger King' aired] my phone rang incessantly with people screaming obscenities," claiming all the negative attention she received "really affected" her daughter, Jamie Murdock and husband, Howard Baskin.

She also shared how the theories suggesting she allegedly had something to do with her first husband's disappearance only made things more difficult. "Once they tell the media, 'She killed her husband and fed him to the tigers,' it worked for these animal abusers to say these things publicly," she said. Baskin has repeatedly denied the rumors and added to Page Six, "it's not true and all you have to do is look into it and know it's not true."

Carole Baskin added that she initially believed she would be portrayed in a more positive light in the first season and accused the documentary series of being "heavily edited" and containing "things that weren't true." She also shared how she didn't think it would get the same reaction if it came out today, noting that it was "a perfect storm" because it was released right when the global coronavirus pandemic took hold in March 2020, forcing many people to stay indoors.