Netflix’s documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness tells the wild story of private zookeeper Joe Exotic and his longtime rival, animal activist Carole Baskin. There is a lot of craziness to unpack in the series, from Exotic’s Tiger King branded lube and underwear to his bizarre country music video. Yet the thing viewers are talking about on Twitter isn’t Exotic’s antics, but instead what really happened to Baskin’s missing husband Don Lewis. Now, a new sequel of sorts to Tiger King from ID will focus on Lewis’ disappearance, all told from Exotic’s perspective.
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“Love her or hate her, Carole is now in the centre ring of the big cat circus. Is she a selfless crusader and protector of animals, who found unimaginable strength despite the mysterious disappearance of her husband? Or are we witnessing Carole Baskin’s master plan finally take effect? Despite her claims of innocence, did she orchestrate the disappearance of Don Lewis to seize control of his fortune, consolidate power and lay waste to her foes? No one seems to be talking – except for one man – and that man is the centre of ID’s upcoming investigative series,” reads the press release for the upcoming special, titled Investigating the Strange World of Joe Exotic. It will reportedly "address the lingering questions that viewers demand be answered."
In Tiger King, Exotic accused Baskin of killing Lewis, who disappeared from his Florida home in 1997. Lewis has never been seen again, and was legally declared dead in 2002. Though some believe that Lewis left for Costa Rica — where he was spending considerable time in the months leading up to his disappearance — others have a darker theory. Lewis’ children suspect Baskin fed Lewis’ body to the tigers at her animal sanctuary, according to People.
Baskin vehemently denies the allegations that she had anything to do with her husband’s disappearance.
“My tigers eat meat; they don’t eat people,” Baskin told People in 1998. “There would be bones and remains of my husband out there. I’m amazed that people would even think such a thing.”
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Baskin did not approve of Netflix’s Tiger King, and it’s likely that she won’t be fond of ID’s upcoming special, either, especially given the focus on Lewis.
“[Tiger King] has a segment devoted to suggesting, with lies and innuendos from people who are not credible, that I had a role in the disappearance of my husband,” Baskin wrote in a blog post on her animal sanctuary’s website. “The series presents this without any regard for the truth or in most cases even giving me an opportunity before publication to rebut the absurd claims. They did not care about truth.”
In addition to ID’s series, a new Tiger King episode may drop soon, according to one of the show’s participants, Jeff Lowe.