Carole Baskin Reacts to Interview Prank, Plus: Who Was Just Cast to Play the Tiger King?

The “Tiger King” headlines keep coming!

Carole Baskin has just responded to pranksters tricking her into an interview, and Variety announced Nicolas Cage will play Joe Exotic in a new series!

Carole, a big cat rescue activist and Joe, an animal park owner, feuded for years, eventually becoming the subjects of the hit Netflix docuseries.

Over the weekend, content creators Josh Pieters and Archie Manners revealed they had nabbed the first interview with Carole since the series began streaming by pretending to be from “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”!

Baskin agreed to the interview after the tricksters, posing as producers, promised Jimmy would not ask any questions about the docuseries or Joe Exotic.

They pulled off the hoax by playing audio culled from past shows of Jimmy asking questions, telling Carole that he could see her, but she could only hear him.

Afterward, she told CNN in a statement, "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."

In the video, Carole revealed that she had to let about half of her staff go due to the coronavirus. Now, she's working seven days per week with her daughter and other volunteers to care for the animals at Big Cat Rescue. Watch the entire prank video here!

Meanwhile, a new, eight-part scripted series will explore the life of Carole's nemesis Joe Exotic, who is currently serving a 22-year sentence on several charges, including hiring a hitman to kill Baskin.

Now, Cage is set to play the former owner of Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, with the series focused on how Joseph Maldonado-Passage became Joe Exotic.