Tiger King star Carole Baskin tricked into paying heartfelt tribute to paedophiles Rolf Harris and Jimmy Savile
Carole Baskin was pranked into recording a Cameo video for Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris. (Screen captures via Twitter)
In a truly 2020 moment, a comedian tricked Tiger King star and animal rights activist Carole Baskin into leaving a paid-for video message to Rolf Harris.
The 59-year-old was duped by Australian Tom Armstrong into filming a message for the disgraced paedophiles on Cameo, a service that allows fans to pay celebrities to send them short, personalised messages. Baskin charges £165.17 per message.
In the clip, Baskin, adorned in her trademark leopard print and floral crown, says: “Hey, all you cool cats and kittens. It’s Carole Baskin, at Big Cat Rescue.
oh my god pic.twitter.com/iiODBHgOlh
— Matt Blakemore (@MattBlakemore) July 14, 2020
Carole Baskin gulled into wishing Rolf Harris a happy birthday. The British entertainer sexually assaulted four underage girls.
“Hi, Rolf Harris. All your kids wanted to get together and tell you that you have really touched them and that they love all that you have done for them.
“I hear there’s a lot of great stories about you and your best friend, Jimmy Savile – can’t wait to hear those. Happy birthday, Rolf!” she said, signing-off as she blows a kiss into the camera.
Television personalities Savile and Harris were both investigated by the British Metropolitan Police as part of Operation Yewtree in 2012.
Jimmy Savile (L) and Rolf Harris. (Michael Putland/Getty Images/Carl Court/Getty Images)
Savile, according to a three-year independent investigation set up by the BBC, sexually abused 72 victims, many children. He raped eight people during his tenure at the broadcaster between 1964 to 2007, one of whom was only eight years old.
While Haris, an entertainer, was sentenced to prison in 2014 for assaults decades ago on victims aged eight to 19. Judges said that Harris showed “no remorse” for his crimes, which included assaulting the daughter of his friend.
He was convicted on a dozen counts of indecent assault against four victims that took place from 1968 to 1986.
Tiger King star furious that she was pranked: ‘I am amazed at the lengths (and expense) people will go to in order to trash my reputation.’
Armstrong shared the video on his TikTok. He introduced the video, saying: “Surely I couldn’t get another American celebrity to shout out Australia’s most notorious sexual predator.
@tomoarmstrong If this doesn’t break the internet I give up ? #carolebaskin #tigerking #comedy #cameo #funny ♬ original sound – tomoarmstrong
“Bonus points if they mention UK’s most notorious sexual predator.”
Armstrong captioned the video: “If this doesn’t break the internet, I give up.”
However, speaking to the Daily Mirror, Baskin explained that upon realising that the video was a prank, it pretty much broke her.
“I am amazed at the lengths (and expense) people will go to in order to trash my reputation,” she said.
“Of course, I have never heard of Rolf Harris, and would not have done the Cameo had I known.
“The signature line in my email reads, ‘I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made – Franklin D. Roosevelt’, and I think that tells you all you need to know about the kind of people who abuse me in their efforts to make others hate me.”
Baskin has faced stinging backlash since the Netflix docu-series all about how a long-standing rivalry between her and zookeeper Joe Exotic curdled into a plot to assassinate her.
Much of it stemmed from speculation surrounding her late husband’s will – which left her everything – and even saw singer Carbi B doubt Baskin. The Big Cat Rescue owner’s partner, Don Lewis, mysteriously disappeared in 1997 and was declared legally dead in 2002.
His family were cut out of his will, leaving his wife with over $5 million in assets including his animal sanctuary in Tampa, Florida. While no evidence of Lewis being killed has ever surfaced, investigators found that the will was forged.
