Tiger King Star Carole Baskin Says She’s Bisexual
Hey, all you cool cats and kittens! Carole Baskin of Tiger King fame shared some details about her sexual identity, revealing that she is bisexual.
The Big Cat Rescue founder explained on Monday, Oct. 19, "I have always considered myself to be bisexual." She told PinkNews, "Even though I've never had a wife, I could just as easily have a wife as a husband as far the way I feel about us. I think we are all one."
The Dancing With the Stars alum said she became familiar with the LGBTQ community during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. "I became very close to people in that community then," she added.
Baskin said that while growing up she believed she was "probably born into the wrong body" because she acted like a "tomboy."
"I was always very male-oriented in the things I did… I never had any mothering instincts or anything, you know, I never played with dolls. And so I always thought that there was something off there, that I couldn't quite put my finger on," Baskin said.
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She continued, "But it was during the '80s that I discovered that through dealing with the LGBT+ community that I [realized] I had just as equal feelings for women as I did for men."
A fellow wild cat-lover from Netflix's Tiger King, Joe Exotic is also queer and his husbands are featured in the docuseries. However, Baskin isn't a fan. "I think he's an embarrassment to the human community," she said.
Baskin, who has inspired a viral TikTok song, appeared on Dancing With the Stars this fall to help improve her reputation. During her second week on the show, she ended up crying while discussing the turmoil she's faced since Tiger King debuted.
"Tiger King really glamorized animal abusers and villainized me for trying to stop animal abuse," she said. "So, I felt really betrayed by that. ... Tiger King missed the ball. It really should have been focused on the animals. And so, I'm hoping Dancing With the Stars will do that."
Lady Gaga poked fun at Baskin's dance performance on the show, though Baskin remained unphased. "I know that she was laughing about me and making fun of me but I don't really care," she said.
But when Chloe Fineman impersonated Baskin on Saturday Night Live, that was the last straw. Baskin said she could "slap" the comedian over the impression.
Another SNL actress is set to step into Baskin's pawprints soon, too. Fans of the binge-worthy Netflix show can get their fill with the upcoming Joe Exotic miniseries that's coming to NBC, Peacock and USA starring Kate McKinnon as Baskin.