YouTubers Trick Carol Baskin Into Interview

Everyone has an opinion on Tiger King Carole Baskin, particularly Joe Exotic. However, due to the reaction to her depiction in the series, particularly the implication that she was involved in her husband's disappearance, the Big Cat Rescue co-founder has ignored and avoided interviews from talk shows.

However, recently, she was coaxed into an interview with The Tonight Show's Jimmy Fallon--well, sort of.

In a YouTube video published by Josh Pieters & Archie Manners, Baskin speaks to a Jimmy Fallon soundboard, believing it to be a legitimate interview with the host.

The video tracks the process leading to the interview, as well as the legal hoops the YouTubers had to jump through, not unlike a tiger at the circus, to get the interview, including her numerous declinations to participate.

Since publishing yesterday, the video has received more than 1.8 million views and reached #3 on YouTube's top trending charts.

The following day, Baskin responded positively to the video. In a statement to CNN, she said:

I was suspicious as we were doing it because the questions appeared taped. But had no idea it would turn out to be such a fun prank. It gave us a very welcome good laugh. I appreciate their cleverness and that they created their video in a way that I don't feel was in any way mean spirited.

Josh Pieters and Archie Manners have made a name for themselves on YouTube by tricking celebrities into interviews. In January 2020, the pair tricked controversial British television star Katie Hopkins into accepting the fake "Campaign to Unify the Nation Trophy" or "C*NT."