Prior to this, an old interview of the Big Cat Rescue CEO resurfaced online, featuring the animal rights activist revealing that her husband is alive and well in Costa Rica.
- January 21, 2023
AceShowbiz - The family of Carole Baskin's "dead" husband has broken silence amid claim that Jack "Don" Lewis, who is long presumed dead after his disappearance in 1997, is "alive and well" in Costa Rica. In a statement on Friday, January 20, Don's daughters accused Carole of lying.
"It's simply not true," the daughters declared to The Post. They also claimed that the "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness" star, who was accused of murdering Don, manipulated a letter seen on Netflix's "Tiger King 2" to create "a different narrative" about Don's disappearance.
The statement arrived after an old interview of Carole resurfaced online. In her 2021 interview with ITV's "This Morning" talk show, the 61-year-old animal rights activist revealed that her husband is alive and well in the country.
"One of the really exciting things that came out of 'Tiger King 2' is that they produced a letter from Homeland Security and it says that a special agent in charge with the FBI at Homeland Security reached out to the sheriff's detective George (Jorge) Fernandez, which means this had to have happened after 2002, because Homeland Security wasn't even around until 2002," she told the outlet at the time.
The Big Cat Rescue CEO continued, "They said my husband, Don Lewis, is alive and well in Costa Rica. And yet all of this drama has been made about me having something to do with his disappearance, when Homeland Security has known where he is."
Don disappeared without trace from his Tampa, Florida home at the age of 59 in August 1997. He was declared legally dead in 2002 and would be 84 if he's still alive today.
Also denying the claim was Joe Exotic, who believed that Carole killed her husband. "Don Lewis is NOT alive," he said in a comment underneath The Shade Room's Instagram post. Internet users were also skeptical with Carole's claims.
Some Internet users were also skeptical. "If homeland security found him, I'm sure they would have made some sort of statement. Especially considering how big this show was," one person commented. "Key words to pay attention to 'She announced.' Nawl now. Let Don speak for himself," one other said, with someone trolling Carole, "So he hates u sooo bad he faked his death to run away & be with the Prostitutas in Costa Rica."
