Carol Baskin Loses Lawsuit Against Netflix Over Tiger King 2 Sequel

Carole Baskin lost her legal battle against Netflix last week after a judge shot down her request for a temporary restraining order.

Baskin and her husband, Howard Baskin, are the owners of Big Cat Rescue, a tiger sanctuary located in Tampa, Florida. Baskin became a household name after the hit show Tiger King aired on Netflix in March of 2020. The show details the rivalry between exotic cat breeder Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, and Baskin. The documentary shed light on Baskin’s big cat sanctuary and largely revolved around Maldonado-Passage’s claims that Baskin killed her first husband, Don Lewis.

Both Baskin and her husband filed a lawsuit last Monday in Tampa, Florida, against Netflix and the production company of the hit show. In the lawsuit, the pair asked the court to put a temporary restraining order on the November 17 release of Netflix’s sequel to Tiger King, Tiger King 2.

The Baskins named the production company, Royal Goode Production, as well as Netflix in their lawsuit. Their complaint alleges that the company did not have the authority to use footage of herself, her husband, or her big cat sanctuary.

Baskin argued that the contract which she signed with the production company during the first season of the show did not give them full license to use footage shot in that season for a follow-up season. Her lawsuit explains that she “believed that any sequel — though odious — would not include any of their footage.”

The Baskins specifically targeted the show’s trailer. “No mention is made of granting Royal Goode Production sequel rights, rights to create derivative works from ‘the Picture’ or additional seasons or episodes,” the suit explains. “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 [contract].”

Baskin also explains that she was initially misled about her original participation in the show’s production. Baskin details that she was told Tiger King was a show aimed to offer "an expose of the big cat breeding and cub petting trade akin to the documentary feature film entitled ‘Blackfish.” Baskin expresses her frustration that the show instead chose to cast her as the villain. “Perhaps most pernicious is the overarching implication in ‘Tiger King 1’ that Carole Baskin was involved in the disappearance of her first husband in 1997," her complaint explains.

U.S. District Court judge for the Middle District of Florida, Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington, denied the request for the restraining order. The ruling explained, "While the Court understands the Baskins’ frustration, it does not appear that inclusion of Defendants’ footage of the Baskins will cause any immediate harm that cannot be compensated with monetary damages.” The ruling goes on, “Because the Court is not persuaded that the Baskins will suffer irreparable injury ... the Court merely finds that the Baskins are not entitled to the extraordinary remedy of a temporary restraining order, which would be entered before Defendants have had an adequate opportunity to respond.”

Covington also adds, “The Court takes no position on whether the Baskins will be able to establish entitlement to a preliminary injunctionpreliminary injunctionA preliminary injunction is a temporary court order issued before a case is finally decided that requires a party to take or stop an action while the litigation continues. Federal courts generally consider the likelihood of success, irreparable harm, the balance of equities, and the public interest before granting one.Read more →.”