Despite Tiger King star Carole Baskin’s weirdly specific quip that “if somebody wanted to kill you, then they would put, like, sardine oil all over you,” it seems her allegedly deceased husband, Don Lewis, may not be so allegedly deceased after all.


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In a revelation that may change “Schrodinger’s Cat” to “Schrodinger’s Tiger,” rumors that Lewis is alive and well in Costa Rica — or as “alive” and “well” as someone who has a viral TikTok dance about them being fed to tigers can be — sent shockwaves through Tiger King’s somehow still-existent fandom this week. 



Over the last several days, Baskin’s recently resurfaced November 2021 interview with the British television network ITV made the rounds online again, in which the flower-crown model claimed authorities informed her that Lewis, who went missing in 1997, had been located in the Central American country.


“They said my husband, Don Lewis, is alive and well in Costa Rica,” Baskin explained of her former spouse, who was legally declared dead in 2002. “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.”


While her newly re-emerged claims — ones that miraculously evaded headlines in their day —  have sparked skepticism… 



And even more skepticism, but sponsored by Weekend at Bernie's…



Baskin has responded to these new claims, reiterating that her story surrounding her husband’s whereabouts has always remained consistent. “I’ve mentioned it in the more than 60 interviews I’ve done since then, where reporters asked about Don, so I’m surprised everyone in the press is acting like they aren’t aware of it,” Baskin recently told People amid the clip’s new viral backlash.


“I was not aware of the Homeland Security document saying Don was alive and well in Costa Rica until [Tiger King 2] aired in [November] 2021,” she added referencing the docuseries’ widely-panned follow-up, which purported Lewis may be living under a new identity.


Though at one point, TMZ published a screengrab of what was purportedly a Department of Homeland Security document corroborating Baskin’s claims seemingly from Tiger King 2, the site appeared to have walked back the story, reiterating that Lewis is still missing. 




Prior to this apparent retraction, Baskin’s famous nemesis and Tiger King co-star, Joe Exotic sounded off the matter, using the story to further his platform amid his evidently prison-based 2024 presidential run. “If Don Lewis is alive, I will voluntarily go to death row,” the reality star,  who is currently in the midst of a decades-long prison sentence for his alleged involvement to murder her.


“Don Lewis is not alive, she knows that, the news knows that and why the hell won’t she take a polygraph test to clear her name? Because it’s bullshit stories like this that keep her in the news and making money,” the Exotic added.


“This is why you need a leader that will tell you enough is enough,” he concluded, adding “Joe Exotic #2024.”


It is unclear what, exactly, Joe Exotic’s stance is on sardine oil.