Carole Baskin of Tiger King fame is suing Netflix, claiming the streamer did not have permission to use footage of her in a second series of the show.
Baskin, who runs Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida, was featured in the first series with her husband, as rivals to breeder Joe Exotic, who was found guilty of hiring a hitman to kill her as part of a long-running feud.
Now, the animal sanctuary owner has filed a lawsuit against the streaming giant in the state, alleging that it, and production company Royal Goode Productions, have broken the terms of their contract by using footage of her and her husband in the show’s second series – which she says she did not agree to.
The suit, seen by Variety, says: “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 couple want Netflix to remove all footage of them from the show’s second season, which is due to be released on 17 November.
There are also claims in the lawsuit that the show was misleading in the way it depicted Big Cat Rescue, saying it suggested she may have been involved in her husband’s disappearance in 1997 – which she denies.
Sky News has contacted Netflix for comment.
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Joe Exotic, around whom the documentary series focuses on, is currently serving a 22-year sentence in Texas after being found guilty of various federal charges including animal mistreatment and attempted murder.
Exotic has launched an appeal against the sentence.
Tiger King was a surprise success for Netflix, with its release coinciding with global lockdowns around the world, prompting people to binge the larger-than-life series.