Anyone who expected that Carole Baskin is free of any Tiger King drama on her maiden episode of Dancing with the Stars would be were left deeply disappointed.
An ad played during one of the commercial breaks starring the family of Don Lewis, Baskin’s missing former husband. As claimed by Baskin’s arch-nemesis, Joe Exotic, Baskin herself played a hand in his disappearance. Its appearance was certainly meant to mean something, even though the ad didn’t explicitly accuse her of foul play.
The ad was first reported hours before it aired Monday night. Sure enough, in between some huffing by Baskin and others, the commercial played, featuring three of his daughters pleading with the nation, hoping that someone, anyone would come forward with information about their father’s appearance. They were joined by Anne McQueen, Lewis’ former assistant, and the family lawyer, John M. Phillips.
“Don Lewis mysteriously disappeared in 1997. His family deserves answers. They deserve justice,” Phillips told the nation. He added, drawing the line at an outright accusation, “Do you know who did this or if Carole Baskin is involved?” They then mentioned a $100,000 reward and a tip line.
At the time of his disappearance in late August of 1997, Lewis left behind over $5 million in assets. One of the episodes of Tiger King, the Netflix documentary series that took the nation by storm in the early days of the American wing of the pandemic, delves into his vanishing, and features Joe Exotic, aka Joseph Allen Schreibvogel, alleging, without hard evidence, Baskin’s involvement. Baskin has denied the accusations.
