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

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 Tiger King who is currently serving a 22-year jail sentence after being found guilty of hiring a hitman to kill Baskin (along with an assortment of wildlife violations).  But it appears Baskin is the one having the last laugh. Her DWTS experience has only served to make her even more well known, hence the opportunity to develop a potential reality series of her own.

As for her big DWTS take-away and life-lesson learned, it’s something she says she’s thrilled to be able to incorporate into her daily life, especially the demanding physical activities she didn’t think she was capable of anymore. “My daughter runs the sanctuary now, so when we have to chase a bobcat in the wild, she's at the front helping them and I’m behind her,” Baskin said. “But after four weeks of intensive [dance] training, it's like I'm going to be right up there at the front with her! She’s so happy that we made it this far, and we got the message out, which she knew was what I really wanted. So it's been a win-win!”

Dancing with the Starsis telecast Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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