Carole Baskin came into her spot in the limelight following her appearances in Netflix’s docuseries Tiger King, and became a household name thanks to her rivalry with Joe Exotic, her obsession with big cats, and the rumors surrounding the circumstances of her husband’s death. Baskin has moved on to new things now and will be taking to the stage in Season 29 of Dancing with the Stars, and in a very on-brand move, her first number will absolutely involve a tiger.
Dancing with the Stars won’t be the first time audiences have seen Carole Baskin dance, but it will be the first time it'll be done in a professional and competitive setting. In the past, Baskin has always made it a point to include tigers in some way — be it by wearing a tiger-print onesie, shirts, jewelry, etc. — and Dancing with the Stars will be no different in that regard. Speaking with EW, Baskin revealed exactly how she will be incorporating tigers into her first performance, which will be the paso doble. Here’s what she said:
I was just approved yesterday to release that we are doing 'Eye of the Tiger.’ I’m very excited about that. I'm actually sitting outside of costuming right now and I gave them the instructions of no fur, no feathers, no leather, and anything else. I don't care how wild, so just have a blast. I can't wait to see what they come up with!
Performing the paso doble to “Eye of the Tiger” is very fitting for the owner of Big Cat Rescue. Her requests for costuming are quite specific, and she clearly won't be dressed as a bird in a motorcycle gang, but it sure sounds like animal print could still be an option for use in her outfit. We won’t get to see Carole Baskin’s performance until next week, but I’d wager that it’ll be a roaring good time.
Ahead of the performance reveal, Carole Baskin appeared on Good Morning America alongside the rest of the Season 29 cast and didn’t shy away from discussing Tiger King. Considering all the negative attention she still gets from how she was portrayed, Baskin didn’t have any kind words, and accused the docuseries of glamorizing animal abusers and villainizing her in the process. My guess is that she’ll use her frustration with the Netflix show and channel it into her paso doble, a dance which is purposeful and fueled by emotion. Even without a live audience to cheer her on, having Rocky's theme pumping through the speakers could definitely be inspirational.
In addition to Carole Baskin, the Dancing with the Stars Season 29 cast includes Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean, Nelly, One Day At a Time’s Justina Machado, figure skater Johnny Weir, Skai Jackson, and Cheer’s Monica Aldama, among several others. Between the cast, Tyra Banks taking over in place of ousted hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews, and a new judge, I'm not lion when I say I think Season 29 will be quite an interesting one.
Dancing with the Stars Season 29 is set to premiere on Monday, September 14 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC. For more on what to watch, be sure to check out our 2020 fall TV premiere schedule for options.
