Carole Baskin tells Newsmax TV that a presidential pardon for "Joe Exotic," the imprisoned star of the Netflix program "Tiger King" would be "frightening" for her since she said he has been trying for decades to have her killed.
"So having him back out on the streets," she said, would be "really frightening," adding that she's always on "high alert."
Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is a former Oklahoma zookeeper convicted of trying to hire someone to kill Baskin, who had tried to shut him down, accusing the Oklahoma zoo of abusing animals and selling big cat cubs.
Baskin appeared Monday on "Spicer & Co." to discuss her appearance on "Dancing With the Stars," where she has finished in the bottom two in fan voting, but been saved by the judges.
Host Sean Spicer, who was a contestant on the show last season, advised Baskin to follow his lead and run a fan campaign to remain in the running since she, like he, is not a good dancer.
"I don't see them saving her twice," he said, noting that once he ended up in the bottom two he got immediately booted. Spicer was President Donald Trump's first press secretary
Baskin became a pop culture sensation due to Netflix's docuseries "Tiger King."
Maldonado-Passage raised questions about the disappearance of Baskin's former husband Don Lewis. The documentary extensively covered Maldonado-Passage's repeated accusations that Baskin killed her husband and possibly fed him to her tigers. Baskin, who founded Big Cat Rescue, has never been charged with any crime and released a statement refuting the accusations made in the series.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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