Posted in: Netflix, Review, streaming, Trailer, TV | Tagged: bleeding cool, cable, Carole Baskin, Doc Antle, Don Lewis, Joe Exotic, Review, streaming, television, Tiger King, TMZ, TMZ Tiger King, tv

TMZ Tiger King Special Review: Fun Hot Takes But Few New Details

After the less-than-stellar Netflix "extra episode," fans were still yearning for more Tiger King. TMZ  (one of the more ubiquitous tabloids) decided to get in on the game by presenting viewers with more even more footage and interviews with the FOX special TMZ Investigates: Tiger King – What Really Went Down?. Hosted by Harvey Levin, this sensational and over the top special was filled with deliciously juicy tidbits and unseen footage. Speaking with TMZ, Alan Glover says Joe Exotic did indeed pay him $3 thousand to kill Carole Baskin. Glover admits to taking the money, but only because he felt it would be a small way of getting back to Exotic. His claims that Exotic was looking to hire a hitman was backed up by James Garretson (while on a jet ski), as well as Jeff and Lauren Lowe. Jeff took it a step further and said Exotic had asked a number of people if they would kill Baskin for him.

The real burning question everyone has been asking is did Carole kill Don Lewis? Since the docuseries aired, the case on Don's disappearance has opened back up. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister stated that Don's passport was never flagged as leaving the country. So while Baskin had been adamant that Don likely fled the country, his legal papers say likewise. According to Don's office manager Anne McQueen, Don and Carole argued over money. At one point several thousand went missing, and Don suspected Carole. Don's lawyer, Joseph Fritz, says Don's last will and power of attorney seemed very suspicious. The will and power of attorney had a clause in there for in case he ever disappeared. This does indeed seem suspicious, especially when Don had plans to divorce Carole and move to Costa Rica. It's even more suspicious when Fritz comments on the restraining order Don had tried to file against Carole.

But what about Doc Antle and The Lowes? According to PETA lawyer Brittany Peet, Antle is being investigated by the USDA, though Antle denies this. According to sources for TMZ, both Antle and the Lowes are being investigated by the USDA and the Department of Justice and yet both Antle and the Lowes believe they're doing what's best for these animals. These big cats can't be released back into the wild because they were bred in captivity. Antle went on to say that killing tiger cubs or adult tigers was immoral and unethical. As far as him having a harem? According to Antle, he was only married once. His wife died in a car accident, and now he has multiple girlfriends: a scenario that all involved seem to find copacetic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v1SUBEYPyc

To Lowe's credit, he said sometimes you do have to intervene with the cubs. Sometimes a mother may reject a cub, or a mother may not have enough milk. Otherwise, they seem to not want to get involved with tearing a cub away from a mom. That doesn't seem to make up for the fact that Lowe and his wife would stick cubs in suitcases, but here we are. This special was exactly what you'd expect from TMZ. It was over the top, all over the place, and had hot takes from people who weren't on the show, such as Travis Barker of Blink 182. This seemed quickly pieced together, but it was infinitely more fun than the Netflix follow up. While I certainly don't feel bad for the humans featured in Tiger King, my heart breaks for the tigers, the real victims in all of this.

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