HIP-HOP
8/8/2020
due to
Ashley Iasimone
Carole Baskin is not down for the “WAP” video of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, which features some exotic cool cats.
The CEO of Big Cat Rescue tells Billboard that using the rappers of big cats as props for them can be harmful, especially since it glamorizes the idea of ”having them as pets”.
“My opinion is that most people will not even see the Photoshopped cats in the scenes because the rest are so lurid,” said Baskin, who became a household name after Netflix’s Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness documents sent out, wrote in a statement Billboard. She added, “I was happy to see that it all looks Photoshopped. It did not look like the cats were really in the rooms with the singers. In fact, most rooms are probably Photoshopped via green screen.”
“That being said, you have to pose a wildcat for a green screen to get that image and that does not happen in the wild,” she pointed out over the scenes with a cheetah and a tiger in “WAP.”
Baskin continued: “It can not happen in shrines like ours, where cats have a lot of space to avoid a green screen (or it would shatter if access was granted and could die by taking food). That tells me “that she’s probably one of the big cat pimps, who deserves a beating, shocking and hungry cat to stand in front of a green screen in a studio. That’s never good for the cat.”
“The worst part is that it reflects the idea that rich people have tigers as pets,” Baskin explained. “That makes imitating any ignorant follower by doing the same. After tigers are too old to pay to play sessions by people like Joe Exotic, Bhagavan Antle, Marc McCarthy, Mario Tabraue and others, they become a liability instead of an asset. While I think most are destroyed behind closed gates at that point, some are eventually given to people who want a tiger to see.This never works out and the cats die or end up in saints or, worse still, breeding mills. However, it is always abused for the cat. “
Billboard reached out to a rep for Cardi B for comment.
Cardi has made her love of Tiger King previously known but promised support for Joe Exotic, who is currently serving a 22-year federal prison sentence for attempting to assassinate Baskin.
