Baskin-Robbins Store Sees Increased Business After Tiger King Carole Baskin Joke Posted on Sign

Never let it be said that a good meme will drive away business. TMZ reports that a Baskin-Robbins [...]

By Spencer Perry

Never let it be said that a good meme will drive away business. TMZ reports that a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop in Junction City, Kansas has found huge success after making their business marquee feature a joke about Netflix's popular documentary series Tiger King. Peggy Heldstab, the owner of the franchise, revealed her son came up with the idea which simply reads "No Relation to Carole Baskin," a reference to one of the prominently featured interviewees in the series. Heldstab said that the popularity of the sign is clear as the day they put it up saw business double compared to the day before.

Despite agreeing to appear in the series as a means for spreading a message of conservation and ending the "Pay to play" scheme used by big cat breeders, Carole Baskin has become infamous online for other reasons. The internet has been run amok since the series debuted with memes and jokes about the fate of Carole Baskin's second husband, Don Lewis, and Baskin's alleged involvement in his disappearance. Lewis disappeared in August 1997 and was declared legally dead in 2002 and though the case remains open, the third episode of Tiger King delved into various theories about what happened to Lewis -- including one that suggests Baskin is responsible for his death.

Following the premiere of the series and an outpouring from the public about the case, Hillsborough County, Florida, sheriff Chad Chronister posted a tweet reiterating his desire to look into the disappearance of Don Lewis, and asking the public for any leads that could help him. Baskin has flatly denied any involvement in Lewis' disappearance and prevoiusly posted harsh criticism of the Netflix series and the filmmaker's tactics.

"When the directors of the Netflix documentary Tiger King came to us five years ago they said they wanted to make the big cat version of Blackfish (the documentary that exposed abuse at SeaWorld) that would expose the misery caused by the rampant breeding of big cat cubs for cub petting exploitation and the awful life the cats lead in roadside zoos and back yards if they survive," Baskin wrote in a blog post. "[The documentary] has a segment devoted to suggesting, with lies and innuendos from people who are not credible, that I had a role in the disappearance of my husband Don 21 years ago...The series presents this without any regard for the truth or in most cases even giving me an opportunity before publication to rebut the absurd claims. They did not care about truth. The unsavory lies are better for getting viewers."

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness is now streaming on Netflix, and though the series was watched by more than 60 million accounts it's not the most popular original on the streaming service.

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