‘Tiger King’ star Carole Baskin to join ‘Dancing With the Stars’

FILE - In this July 20, 2017, file photo, Carole Baskin, founder of Big Cat Rescue, walks the property near Tampa, Fla. A federal judge in Oklahoma has awarded ownership of the zoo made famous in Netflix's "Tiger King" docuseries to Joe Exotic's rival, Carole Baskin. In a ruling Monday, June 1, 2020, U.S. District Judge Scott Palk granted control of the Oklahoma zoo that was previously run by Joseph Maldonado-Passage — also known as Joe Exotic — to Big Cat Rescue Corp. (Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times via AP, File) FILE - In this July 20, 2017, file photo, Carole Baskin, founder of Big Cat Rescue, walks the property near Tampa, Fla. A federal judge in Oklahoma has awarded ownership of the zoo made famous in Netflix's "Tiger King" docuseries to Joe Exotic's rival, Carole Baskin. In a ruling Monday, June 1, 2020, U.S. District Judge Scott Palk granted control of the Oklahoma zoo that was previously run by Joseph Maldonado-Passage — also known as Joe Exotic — to Big Cat Rescue Corp. (Loren Elliott/Tampa Bay Times via AP, File)

By MARK KENNEDY / Associated Press September 2, 2020 2 min read

Like all cool cats and kittens, Carole Baskin is going to “Dancing With the Stars.”

The reality TV star who became a pop culture sensation with Netflix’s docuseries “Tiger King” is joining the new crop of celebrity dancers that includes TV and film actress Anne Heche, former NBA star Charles Oakley and Backstreet Boys singer AJ McLean.

The new season premieres on ABC on Sept. 14.

On the Netflix series “Tiger King”, Baskin, who owns a big cat refuge, sought to shut down Joseph Maldonado-Passage’s for-profit breeding of big cats. His nickname is “Joe Exotic” and her signature line is “cool cats and kittens.”

Maldonado-Passage is serving a 22-year federal prison term for killing five tigers and plotting to have Baskin killed. In June, a federal judge awarded Baskin ownership of the private Oklahoma zoo run by Maldonado-Passage.