Carole Baskin Talks About a Possible New Reality Show After “Dancing with the Stars”

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ABC’sDancing with the Stars broke annual tradition on last night’s Disney-themed night by sending a competitor home. Historically, no contestant is eliminated that night, and two exit the following week. But in a season resplendent with changes, the judges’ vote sent big-cat activist Carole Baskin packing. Baskin (pictured at top, left), who along with her pro-partner Pasha Pashkov (top right) performed a Samba to Circle of Life from The Lion King, didn’t fare too well with the show’s judges in the scoring department, receiving a desultory 12/30 for her efforts. However, it was a very jovial Baskin who addressed reporters via a Zoom conference call after the elimination, and despite the bad news she’d just received, she was, ahem, basking in the experience. “I am so thankful for Dancing with the Stars,” she said. “To give me this opportunity to get the message out there about the big cats. I just got off the phone with my husband, and I think going home is going to be the best! I am really excited to get back to Tampa, Florida.”

If things go according to plan, this won’t be the last we see of Baskin on the small screen. “We're actually shopping a [reality] show right now,” she explained. “We don't have a name for it, but it will be going after all of the bad guys that are abusing [big] cats and bringing them to justice. I'm really hoping that we can find a buyer for that.

“It will involve all of [the family],” she added. “Advocacy work includes going after the people that are abusing animals, bringing them to justice, and then trying to find forever-homes for those animals. My daughter is involved in the rescue end and helping to place them at good legitimate sanctuaries that are accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, whereas my husband and I will be doing more of the research in the advocacy.”

For Baskin, who admitted to never having watched DWTS before joining the cast of Season 29, the experience was a good foray into the world of Hollywood. “I think what is gonna stick with me from this is the people,” she said of the experience. “You know, I just never had any concept of what Hollywood was like, or the people that are in that realm. Everybody at Dancing with the Stars from the security guards right up to the CEO, all those people are just … They just make you feel like you're such a part of the family. It was a wonderful experience.”

One thing Baskin had to overcome while doing the show was letting her self-admitted guard down, and while she did to a point, she told me it’s always going to be a battle for a myriad of personal reasons. “I think I always go into things with my guard up and I don't know that this is going to change that,” she shared. “I still freeze up whenever people are running about, and tonight after the song from Up, they were popping the balloons! I thought I was going to absolutely lose my mind. It's really hard for me to stay in a comfortable state of mind because some of the worst abusers are still out there and they still want me dead.”

Without naming names, Baskin was referring to Joe Exotic (Joseph Maldonado-Passage), the subject of Netflix’s hit documentary series  

Steve Gidlow

Steve Gidlow, a long-time columnist for MediaVillage ("Behind the Scenes in Hollywood"), has written about television and pop culture since 1994, beginning in Australia.  Since moving to Hollywood in 1997, Steve has focused on celebrity interv… read more