Carole Baskin, an animal rights advocate and star of Netflix’s documentary “Tiger King,” just came out as bisexual.
Speaking to fellow LGBTQ+ website PinkNews, Baskin opened up about her sexuality, noting that she “always considered herself bisexual.”
“Even though I’ve never had a wife, I could just as easily have a wife as a husband,” Baskins said.
Detailing her childhood, Baskin said she always thought of herself like and felt like a “tomboy” growing up, but after becoming engaged to a psychologist who cared for LGBTQ+ patients in the ’80s, something clicked. Ultimately, Baskin says she realized she was bisexual during the height of the AIDS epidemic and became very close tot he community during that time.
“I always thought that there was something off there, that I couldn’t quite put my finger on,” she said. “But it was during the ’80s that I discovered that through dealing with the LGBT+ community that I [realized] I had just as equal feelings for women as I did for men.”
Baskin’s name shot into the pop culture stratosphere this year after being featured on the Netflix documentary “Tiger King,” which follows a years-long feud between her and exotic animal breeder Joe Exotic. While Baskin is the owner of Big Cat Rescue, a nonprofit in Tampa, Florida, Exotic was arrested in April on federal charges of animal abuse and murder for hire. While the show mostly focused on Exotic’s unique life as a gay man, Baskin caught attention for her interesting personality and the vagueness over the disappearance of her second husband.
Aside from being featured on “Tiger King,” Baskin was also a recently featured contestant on “Dancing with the States.” The nonprofit owner and reality star was able to squeeze in three big cat-focused dances — including one to “One of the Tiger” — before she was eliminated.
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