In a twist of fate, two eras of 2020 pop culture have collided after Tampa Big Cat Rescue CEO Carole Baskin criticized rapper Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion for using big cats in their internet-breaking song “WAP.”
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, Baskin, infamously known for her role in the Netflix series, “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” condemned the less-than-a-week-old “WAP” music video, saying it is exploitive of the big cats depicted. The CEO and founder of Tampa’s Big Cat Rescue said that while she believes the animals were added in after production, it still concerned her.
“You have to pose a wildcat in front of a green screen to get that image and that doesn't happen in the wild,” Baskin told Entertainment Weekly. “It can't happen in sanctuaries like ours where cats have plenty of room to avoid a green screen (or would shred it if offered access and could die from ingesting it). That tells me they probably dealt with one of the big cat pimps, probably even one of the ones shown in Tiger King, Murder, Mayhem and Madness, who make a living from beating, shocking and starving cats to make them stand on cue in front of a green screen in a studio. That's never good for the cat."
In an interview with Vice, Cardi offered a rebuttal, “I’m not gonna engage with Carole Baskin on that. Like, that’s just ridiculous you know? Oh, Lord. Like, girl you killed your goddamn husband.”
Baskin has had a newsworthy summer, as she recently gained ownership of rival Joe Exotic’s Oklahoma property containing his Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, now property of Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue. She is also still selling “Hey all you cool cats and kittens” face masks.
Watch the "WAP" video below, and revisit Creative Loafing Tampa Bay's 1999 cover story about the disappearance of Don Lewis here.
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