Carole Baskin’s ‘DWTS’ debut will include commercial on missing husband

Tiger King star Carole Baskin is heading back to television for Dancing With The Stars.

However, the family of Don Lewis, her missing ex-husband, plan to remind everyone about her alleged involvement in his disappearance. The Lewis family have purchased commercial time and plan to air an ad regarding Lewis’ disappearance during Baskin’s Dancing With The Stars debut on Monday.

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Last month, the Lewis family filed a lawsuit against Baskin. They are suing Baskin for answers regarding her ex-husband’s disappearance. They are also offering a $100,000 reward for information that leads to solving the case.

Lewis vanished in 1997, a day before a scheduled trip to Costa Rica. He was never found and declared legally dead in 2002. He and Baskin started the Big Cat Rescue in Tampa together.

Along with the lawsuit and reward, the Lewis family paid for a series of Tampa-area billboards asking for information regarding the case. Now, it looks like they are taking their advertising one step further.

If you tune in for the commercial breaks during Monday’s Dancing With The Stars episode, you will likely see one regarding Lewis’ disappearance. According to TMZ, the Lewis family have purchased a commercial spot during the ABC show. It features Don’s daughters Gale, Lynda and Donna, plus his former assistant Anne McQueen and the family’s attorney.

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TMZ also suggests that Baskin’s inclusion on Dancing With The Stars is a bad call on the network’s part seeing as she’s involved in an ongoing investigation.

Baskin has always maintained her innocence in Lewis’ disappearance. Earlier this month, she was confirmed to be joining the new season of Dancing With The Stars. The new season’s first episode premieres Monday, Sept 14.

?Get ready you cool cats and kittens! MRT via @GMA: #TigerKing’s @Carole_Baskin joins the cast of @DancingABC season 29! #DancingOnGMA#DWTS pic.twitter.com/nAkLTXV4yV

— Steve Rudin ABC7 (@SteveRudinABC7) September 2, 2020

As we saw in Tiger King, Joe Exotic repeatedly speculated that Baskin killed Lewis and possibly fed him to the tigers. However, no information proving this theory has been brought forward.

Baskin previously sued Exotic for trademark and copyright infringement and won the $1 million civil case against him. In the end, Baskin won control of Exotic’s zoo back in June.

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In August, it was reported that Netflix has secured the rights to the second season of Tiger King. Exotic, Dillon Passage and Jeff Lowe have all vowed to return for the new episodes. Exotic reportedly wants to use the second season to clear his name.

He is currently serving 22 years in prison for a murder-for-hire plot. Exotic was convicted of hiring a hitman to kill Baskin and has more than a dozen wildlife violations including the killings of five tigers.

Despite a possible second season, however, Baskin revealed that she has no plans to return to the Netflix show. According to the Radio Times, she felt deceived by the show and that no amount of money would make her come back for more episodes.

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“There is no amount of money that would cause me to trust the producers again after their sick betrayal of the animals and me,” she said. “I wasn’t paid the first time around, although several people have come forward saying they were paid. That violates the very nature of a documentary along with so many other things that were staged and taken out of context.”

TONIGHT is the Dancing with the Stars premiere at 8|7c on ABC! These stars will light it up live from the ballroom ? #DWTS pic.twitter.com/dJGJLz8FMp

— Dancing with the Stars #DWTS (@DancingABC) September 14, 2020

What are your thoughts on Carole Baskin joining Dancing With The Stars? Do you think the Lewis family should air the commercial on Don’s disappearance? Let us know in the comments below.