Netflix have responded to Carole Baskin’s lawsuit over the Tiger King sequel.
The Big Cat Rescue founder, who rose to fame following her appearance on the first season of the hit show, is claiming that the streaming giant did not have permission to use footage of her in the second season.
The animal sanctuary owner has filed a lawsuit against Netflix alleging that it, and production company Royal Goode Productions, have broken the terms of their contract by using footage of her and her husband in the show’s second series – which she claims she did not agree to.
In new documents obtained by PEOPLE, Netflix and production company Royal Goode Productions say Carole and her husband signed up for nine appearance releases and two location release agreements for Tiger King in 2019, which “explicitly permit Defendants to use the footage in later projects.”
The document states: “Defendants did not need to obtain a release from Plaintiffs to use the footage in Tiger King 2or its promotional trailers. And there is nothing in any of the appearance releases that prohibits any use of the footage.”
“Accordingly, Plaintiffs have no claim at all, much less one that can evade Defendants’ First Amendment.”
The streaming giant already scored a win in the legal battle against Carole and her husband when a Florida judge denied their motion for a temporary restraining order that would block Netflix and Royal Goode Productions from featuring footage of them and their Big Cat Rescue sanctuary in the sequel.
According to court documents, the judge ruled that the Baskins “are not entitled to the extraordinary remedy of a temporary restraining order, which would be entered before Defendants have had an adequate opportunity to respond.”
“While the Court understands the Baskins’ frustration, it does not appear that inclusion of Defendants’ footage of the Baskins will cause any immediate harm that cannot be compensated with monetary damages,” the ruling stated.
Carole and her husband wanted Netflix to remove all footage of them from the show’s second season before it is released on November 17th.
There are also claims in the lawsuit that the show was misleading in the way it depicted Big Cat Rescue, claiming the series suggested Carole may have been involved in her husband’s disappearance in 1997 – which she firmly denies.
