Tiger King star Carole Baskin has finally spoken out in her first TV interview since the Netflix documentary aired, after being tricked into thinking she was appearing on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show.
During the chat, Joe Exotic's nemesis, animal rights campaigner Carole, revealed her Florida business, Big Cat Rescue, may be forced to close following the coronavirus pandemic.
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But little did she know it wasn't Jimmy she was speaking to, but a compilation of clips from his previous shows, put together by prankster YouTube stars Archie Manners and Josh Pieters.
In the sham interview, Carole was asked about how the sanctuary was getting by during the lockdown, revealing she'd had to let half of her staff go and is now working seven days a week herself to look after her animals.
"My daughter and I still come into the sanctuary every day because we have to take care of all the big cats here," she said.
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"Unfortunately due to the loss of tourism revenue we've had to let go of about half of our staff and thankfully all of our animal care is done by volunteers.
"The animals are still getting their daily care but it means all of us are having to work double time to make sure that happens."
Carole then admitted that the pandemic meant her sanctuary may not be open to the public again.
"I work seven days a week but I'm a workaholic so I really love doing this work," she went on. "After Covid-19 I just don't know if we're ever going to be able to do tours again."
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Carole's interview is the first she has done since Tiger King aired, which she slammed for "lying" about the events surrounding her first husband, Don Lewis' vanishing, and other details.
While she has avoided any press since the documentary hit screens, featuring interviews inferring she could have killed Don and fed him to the tigers, she has since vehemently denied the allegations on her blog, and branded the whole series "salacious and sensational".
The pranksters got Carole to agree to the interview by insisting they would only ask her about her cats.
Plus, Archie even posed as an employee from Tonight Show and told her that Jimmy would be asking questions over the phone so they could remain incognito.
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They stated that she originally turned down the opportunity - citing her upset over Joe Exotic's claims about her - but was later won round with the promise that they would be not be discussed.
Carole has not yet spoken out on the prank.
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/ Josh Pieters and Archie MannersTopics: Tiger King, TV News, TV Entertainment, Carole Baskin, YouTube