The big-cats rights activist, and star of Netflix's 'Tiger King,' made her 'Dancing With the Stars' debut during Monday's premiere.
Carole Baskin just made her Dancing With the Stars debut, and needless to say, it was far more epic than we could have ever imagined!
Dressed head-to-toe in animal-print, the 59-year-old big-cats rights activist, and star of Netflix's Tiger King, fittingly danced a Paso Doble to "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor.
Although Baskin and her pro partner, Pasha Pashkov, definitely entertained audiences at home, the two received honest feedback from judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough.
Derek Hough said she "smashed it," while Carrie Ann Inaba said, "What I love most is that you did not hold back. That was fantastic!"
Baskin and Pashkov received a total score of 11/30, the lowest of the night.
While speaking to ET last week, Baskin said that "Eye of the Tiger" was actually her first song choice.
"The people in wardrobe asked me what they could do and I told them to go just absolutely wild," she teased at the time. "So, I think you're going to be as surprised as I am."
Baskin also set the record straight on why she decided to say yes to doing DWTS. Despite how she was portrayed on Tiger King, the Big Cat Rescue CEO said she isn't here for her own redemption, but for that of her beloved animals!
"There's plenty of wrongs but this isn't about me. This is about the cats and they were the real losers in Tiger King. There was [little] attention paid to what those cats go through," she explained. "So I am really hoping that Dancing With the Stars will keep those cats first and foremost in the front of the viewers so that they are constantly thinking about those cats being in cages and being exploited so that we can change that and end the private possession and the cub handling."
"In my case, I have always been strictly focused on protecting big cats and saving them in the wild," she continued. "The editors of Tiger King chose not to focus on that part of what I do. I'm really hoping the editors of Dancing With the Stars do."
Hear more in the video below.
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