Rebuttal video featured on the Big Cat Rescue website
We continue to explore the reputational snafus that the antagonist from Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness made throughout the series’ seven episodes. In our previous post, we discussed how Carole Baskin’s tendency to restate negative occurrences and highlight her missing second husband’s bad behavior have tarnished her reputation from a public relations perspective.
Blunder #3 - Lacking compassion and empathy. The obvious element missing from the docuseries and Baskin’s rebuttal statement is the slightest hint of compassion. Baskin never indicates Lewis’ disappearance was tragic or that although their union wasn’t always perfect, she was devastated to lose him in this manner and never have closure. She doesn’t adequately convey empathy regarding how the loss may have impacted Lewis’ children, friends and other family members.
Baskin is also seen flippantly and almost gleefully reporting that she pays no one who works for her a salary. When asked about her interactions with her interns, she brazenly indicates they need to spend nearly the duration of their internship at the rescue before she even recognizes them.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of almost every nonprofit. Speaking of volunteers, interns and employees with anything other than terms of gratitude and respect is never appropriate and will almost always draw negative attention when publicly stated.
Blunder #4 - Losing track of the message. If Tiger King were just about the ills of the exploitive cub petting industry, the movie perhaps wouldn’t be the blockbuster hit that it is. Of course, as animal welfare advocates ourselves, we’d like to think anytime humans place animals in harm’s way that the news would also draw an audience of millions sparking swift policy change.
The truth is, Tiger King takes us inside the lives of people who own, breed and profit from big cats. The people featured make for captivating television, sometimes leaving the animals languishing in less than humane conditions, serving as the supporting actors in this riveting drama.
Baskin fashions herself as the Mother Theresa of big cats, the hero of the story. If you look at the comments on Big Cat Rescue’s social media feeds, you’ll see that the docuseries in no way sways the sanctuary’s most loyal fans and followers. Many have pledged to never watch the docuseries in protest of the way the filmmaker portrays Baskin.
As public relations experts and crisis counselors, we can attest that having an army of supporters come to your public defense in times of trouble is an invaluable asset.
Yet, we don’t see Baskin as the victim but as someone who got swept up in the excitement of making a movie and lost track of her message and purpose. There’s something about movie and television cameras that can make some people almost giddy. It’s a fascinating medium and hard not to be flattered by having film crews follow you for days.
Being that Baskin has positioned herself as one of the leading voices to end the cub petting trade, she should have been fierce in her resolve to stay on topic. If she had, the rapturous interplay between Joe Exotic AKA Joseph Maldonado-Passage would never have been possible and would likely have been void of its dramatic edge.
Now we’re not saying a movie featuring solely Joe Exotic wouldn’t have captured the attention of millions of Americans passing their days in quarantine binge-watching Netflix. What we are saying is that if Baskin had stayed on message instead of describing the salacious details of her first date with her second husband, Don Lewis, where she held him at gunpoint while they drove around Tampa; not to mention the comedic tour of her closet; the sappy romantic singing interludes; or the strange photos from her wedding to her current husband, (we could go on and on), the current media spotlight would likely have been much kinder to her. If only she had a bit more self-awareness when sharing the more eccentric details of her personal life that are irrelevant to her sanctuary's mission, she most likely wouldn’t be facing the negative media firestorm she is now poorly managing.
Baskin was a filmmaker’s dream giving away only slightly less captivating content than her adversaries. If Baskin had stayed on message, it’s possible she would have even been cut out of the docuseries all together. However, she also could have been positioned as the leading credible voice on ending the private ownership of big cats in the United States rather than one of the many eccentric characters the docuseries follows.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of almost every nonprofit. Speaking of volunteers, interns and employees with anything other than terms of gratitude and respect is never appropriate and will almost always draw negative attention when publicly stated.
Blunder #4 - Losing track of the message. If Tiger King were just about the ills of the exploitive cub petting industry, the movie perhaps wouldn’t be the blockbuster hit that it is. Of course, as animal welfare advocates ourselves, we’d like to think anytime humans place animals in harm’s way that the news would also draw an audience of millions sparking swift policy change.
The truth is, Tiger King takes us inside the lives of people who own, breed and profit from big cats. The people featured make for captivating television, sometimes leaving the animals languishing in less than humane conditions, serving as the supporting actors in this riveting drama.
Baskin fashions herself as the Mother Theresa of big cats, the hero of the story. If you look at the comments on Big Cat Rescue’s social media feeds, you’ll see that the docuseries in no way sways the sanctuary’s most loyal fans and followers. Many have pledged to never watch the docuseries in protest of the way the filmmaker portrays Baskin.
As public relations experts and crisis counselors, we can attest that having an army of supporters come to your public defense in times of trouble is an invaluable asset.
Yet, we don’t see Baskin as the victim but as someone who got swept up in the excitement of making a movie and lost track of her message and purpose. There’s something about movie and television cameras that can make some people almost giddy. It’s a fascinating medium and hard not to be flattered by having film crews follow you for days.
Being that Baskin has positioned herself as one of the leading voices to end the cub petting trade, she should have been fierce in her resolve to stay on topic. If she had, the rapturous interplay between Joe Exotic AKA Joseph Maldonado-Passage would never have been possible and would likely have been void of its dramatic edge.
Now we’re not saying a movie featuring solely Joe Exotic wouldn’t have captured the attention of millions of Americans passing their days in quarantine binge-watching Netflix. What we are saying is that if Baskin had stayed on message instead of describing the salacious details of her first date with her second husband, Don Lewis, where she held him at gunpoint while they drove around Tampa; not to mention the comedic tour of her closet; the sappy romantic singing interludes; or the strange photos from her wedding to her current husband, (we could go on and on), the current media spotlight would likely have been much kinder to her. If only she had a bit more self-awareness when sharing the more eccentric details of her personal life that are irrelevant to her sanctuary's mission, she most likely wouldn’t be facing the negative media firestorm she is now poorly managing.
Baskin was a filmmaker’s dream giving away only slightly less captivating content than her adversaries. If Baskin had stayed on message, it’s possible she would have even been cut out of the docuseries all together. However, she also could have been positioned as the leading credible voice on ending the private ownership of big cats in the United States rather than one of the many eccentric characters the docuseries follows.